How to Merge Cells in Excel (2026)
Merging combines several adjacent cells into one — handy for titles and section headers that span columns. Excel offers three merge styles plus an unmerge, and one important catch: merging keeps only the top-left value. Here’s how to do it right.
1. Merge & Center
The most common option, for a heading centered over several columns:
- Select the adjacent cells (e.g.,
A1:D1). - On the Home tab, click Merge & Center in the Alignment group.
The cells become one and the content centers across it.
2. The Three Merge Options
Click the arrow next to Merge & Center for the full menu:
- Merge & Center — merges the selection into one cell and centers the text.
- Merge Across — merges each row in the selection separately (great for merging columns across many rows at once, without combining the rows).
- Merge Cells — merges into one cell but keeps the existing alignment (no auto-centering).
3. Unmerge Cells
- Click the merged cell.
- On the Home tab, click Merge & Center again to toggle it off — or open the arrow and choose Unmerge Cells.
The single value returns to the top-left cell; the others come back empty.
4. Merge Without Losing Data
Merging discards everything except the top-left value. To combine the text from several cells instead, don’t merge — concatenate them:
=A1&" "&B1&" "&C1Put that in a spare cell, then copy and Paste Special > Values where you want the combined text.
5. A Safer Alternative: Center Across Selection
Merged cells break sorting, copy/paste, and selection. To visually center a title across columns without actually merging:
- Select the cells.
- Press Ctrl+1 (Cmd+1 on Mac) to open Format Cells.
- On the Alignment tab, set Horizontal to Center Across Selection.
- Click OK.
The title looks centered across the columns, but each cell stays independent.
6. Troubleshooting
Merge & Center is greyed out
The worksheet is protected, or you’re editing a cell. Unprotect the sheet (Review > Unprotect Sheet) or press Esc first.
”Merging cells only keeps the upper-left value”
That’s the warning before data loss. Cancel, move the other values out (or concatenate them), then merge.
Can’t sort or filter
A merged cell in the range blocks it. Unmerge the cells, or use Center Across Selection instead.
Mac and Web
Merge & Center sits in the same spot on the Home tab in Excel for Mac and Excel for the web.
Related Excel guides: How to wrap text · How to concatenate · How to unhide columns · How to lock cells · How to use conditional formatting
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