Have you ever wondered how to merge cells in Google Sheets? Look no further – this article will concisely present you with all the options at your disposal.
Google Sheets allows you to merge two or more cells into one. This practice has multiple uses.
For example, merging cells is particularly useful when you want to create a title that spans multiple columns with just a few clicks. But that’s just one of the many potential use cases for cell merging.
The following guide will show you all the ways to merge cells in Google Sheets, with step-by-step examples and explanations.
Explainer Video: How to Merge Cells in Google Sheets
Why Merge Cells in Google Sheets?
The merge cells option allows you to automatically combine two or more cells within a sheet.
You can present and analyze your data in your spreadsheet faster and more efficiently by merging cells in Google Sheets.
Our clients, for example, often merge cells to streamline key performance indicator (KPI) reports and data visualization in their spreadsheets.
How to Merge Cells in Google Sheets: 4 Quick Options
Read the step-by-step explanations below to discover the main methods for merging cells in Google Sheets.
1. The “Merge Cells” Function
Before merging cells, let’s extract a sample data set from HubSpot into Google Sheets using Coefficient.
After installing Coefficient from the Google Workspace Marketplace, launch the Coefficient add-on from the top menu in Google Sheets.
Connect your HubSpot account to Coefficient, then follow the instructions to import the desired data set. Your data will automatically appear in Google Sheets within seconds.
Now let’s start with a simple example of merging cells in Google Sheets.
Let’s say you want to create a single header for the columns “Owner First Name” and “Owner Last Name” in the HubSpot data set we just extracted.
First, select the cells you want to merge (cells C2 and D2).
Then, click on “Format” in the top menu of Google Sheets.
Choose “Merge Cells” from the dropdown menu. Select whether you want to merge all, horizontally, or vertically (we’ll discuss this in more detail in a moment).
For this example, click on “Merge All”, and your merged cells will look like this:
The cell reference for the merged cells now appears as C2:D2.
You can also use a faster method to combine the selected cells by using the “Merge” icon in the Google Sheets toolbar.
Click on the dropdown arrow of the merge icon to see the merge options. Here’s a quick recap of the merge options:
- “Merge All”. The “Merge All” option combines all selected cells into one cell (as shown in our example).
- “Merge Horizontally”. Horizontal merging combines all selected cells into rows.
- “Merge Vertically”. Vertical merge combines all selected cells into individual columns.
2. Keyboard Shortcut for Cell Merging
Google Sheets doesn’t offer a direct keyboard shortcut for cell merging options. However, you can use a trick with the following steps:
- Select the cells (or cell range) you want to merge.
- Press Alt+O → M to open the merge cell options menu.
- Choose the desired merging option to apply to the selected cells.
3. Creating a Formula in Google Sheets
You can also use formulas to combine the data from two cells into one. Let’s try this with the original data set extracted from HubSpot. You can follow the steps below or use Coefficient’s free GPT Copilot to generate your formulas. Here’s a quick video on the free formula builder.
Now let’s dive into manually building the formula to merge your cells. In this example, we’ll merge the first names and last names of business owners into one cell using a formula.
First, add another column to the right of the “Owner Last Name” column (column D) and enter “Full Name” as the header.
Next, click on the cell where you want to display the full name (cell E3 in this case).
Then type the formula below to merge the first names and last names from cells C3 and D3 into your new cell.
Syntax: =[Owner First Name Cell]&""&[Owner Last Name Cell]
Formula: =C3&" "&D3
Press Enter, and you’ll see the first name and last name combined in your cell.
The “Auto Fill” feature allows you to automatically apply the same formula to the rest of the column. Otherwise, drag the formula down to apply it to the entire column.
The formula allows you to quickly and easily merge cell values without manually copying and pasting the data.
4. Google Sheets App
The cell merge function also works in the Google Sheets app for smartphones. However, the app can only merge cells and does not have the vertical and horizontal options.
Here’s how it works.
Open the Google Sheets app on your smartphone or compatible mobile device, and open your spreadsheet file.
Tap on a cell in the range of cells you want to merge. Then, drag the blue cell border to select all the cells you want to merge.
Tap on the formatting icon in the top menu.
Then, tap on the “Cell” tab. Scroll down and toggle on the “Merge Cells” option.
Only the value from the top-left cell will be retained. Tap the “OK” button to proceed. The selected cells will be merged into one cell.
You can also quickly merge cells with just one click. Simply select the cells you want to combine and tap the “Merge” icon in the Google Sheets app menu.
The cell merge option in the Google Sheets app has limited functionality. But it’s convenient when you need to quickly merge your cells.
The Flip Side: How to Unmerge Cells
For various reasons, you may want to unmerge cells that you have previously merged. Fortunately, Google Sheets makes this process easy by providing a built-in unmerge feature.
You can unmerge previously merged cells by selecting the cell, clicking on the “Merge” icon in the Google Sheets toolbar, and then selecting “Unmerge” from the dropdown menu.
The unmerge option moves the value contained within your merged cells to the top-left cell in the selected data range.
However, unmerging cells will not restore any lost data from the merge. It’s crucial to remember this when using the merge/unmerge capabilities in Google Sheets.
Best Practices and Tips for Merging Cells in Google Sheets
Merging cells in Google Sheets is quite simple, but you should follow these recommendations to avoid errors and data loss.
Merge Cells in Small Data Sets
Avoid merging cells in large data sets, especially in cells containing formulas, as this can disrupt calculations and cause errors. It’s best to use the merge cells option for formatting your data tables and other presentation choices.
Merge Cells Proportionally
The vertical and horizontal merge cell options allow you to combine cells proportionally across multiple columns. For example, you can merge cells evenly when they are selected in the same manner.
However, you cannot merge cells that are unevenly selected across columns.
Keep Important Data in the Leftmost Cell
Be careful when merging multiple cells with different values. The merged cell will only retain the value of the top-left cell.
For example, let’s say you want to merge the range of cells C4:D5 in the table below.
Google Sheets will display a prompt warning you about merging cells with different values before proceeding.
In this example, Google Sheets will only retain the value of the top-left cell (Bob) when you merge all the cells.
Sorting Columns with Merged Cells is Not Possible
Google Sheets does not allow you to sort columns containing merged cells. Attempting to sort a column with merged cells will result in errors. You may need to use formulas to highlight duplicates in Google Sheets, for example, to find redundancies.
Easily Merge Cells in Google Sheets
Google Sheets offers multiple ways to merge your data into one cell, from using the “Merge” icon to writing custom formulas.
Merging cells in Google Sheets helps organize your data and makes it easier to visualize and analyze.
And now, with Coefficient, you can import real-time data from your company’s systems into Google Sheets to further streamline data analysis. Try Coefficient for free to leverage live data in your spreadsheet.
Also, check out our other Google Sheets tutorials to simplify your formula and spreadsheet workflows:
- The Ultimate Guide to Using Pivot Tables in Google Sheets
- How to Highlight Duplicates in Google Sheets
- How to Use the QUERY Function in Google Sheets
- The Ultimate Guide to Using the VLOOKUP Function in Google Sheets
- The Ultimate Guide to Using the XLOOKUP Function in Google Sheets
