How to merge cells in Excel (and unmerge them)

Applies to Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2024/2021/2019, Excel for Mac and Excel for the web. Merging is great for titles, but it breaks sorting, filtering and copy-paste - so read the alternative below before merging data tables.

Merge cells step by step

Windows and Mac

1. Select two or more adjacent cells, for example A1:D1.
2. On the Home tab, in the Alignment group, click Merge & Center.
3. For other options, click the small arrow next to it: Merge Across (merges each row separately), Merge Cells (merges without centering).
4. If cells other than the upper-left one contain data, Excel warns you that only the upper-left value is kept. Click OK to continue.

Keyboard shortcut (Windows)

1. Select the cells.
2. Press Alt, then H, then M, then C (one after another) to Merge & Center.
3. Use Alt, H, M, A for Merge Across, Alt, H, M, M for Merge Cells, Alt, H, M, U to unmerge.

Unmerge cells

1. Select the merged cell.
2. Click Merge & Center again, or choose Unmerge Cells from its menu. The value goes back to the upper-left cell.

How to combine text from several cells without losing it

Merging throws away everything except the first value. To keep all of it, combine the text with a formula in a new cell, then merge if you still want to:

• =A2&" "&B2 joins A2 and B2 with a space.
• =TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,A2:D2) joins a range with commas and skips blanks (Excel 2019 and later).

Copy the result and use Paste Special > Values if you want to delete the original cells.

Better option for tables: Center Across Selection

Center Across Selection looks exactly like merged cells but doesn't break sorting or selection:

1. Select the cells (put the text in the first one).
2. Press Ctrl+1 (Mac: Cmd+1) to open Format Cells.
3. On the Alignment tab, set Horizontal to Center Across Selection, then click OK.

Why is Merge & Center greyed out?

• You're editing a cell - press Esc first.
• The sheet is protected - go to Review > Unprotect Sheet.
• The cells are inside an Excel Table (Insert > Table). Tables don't allow merging; convert with Table Design > Convert to Range or use Center Across Selection.
• The workbook is shared or opened in a read-only view.