Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 12, 2019)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
Excel provides one workbook function and one operator that both have the same purpose—to combine strings into a longer string. The CONCATENATE function and the ampersand (&) operator have essentially the same purpose.
Many people use the ampersand operator in preference to the CONCATENATE function because it requires less typing, but CONCATENATE would become immensely more valuable if it would handle a range of cells. Unfortunately it does not, but you can create your own user-defined function that will concatenate every cell in a range very nicely. Consider the following macro:
Function Concat1(myRange As Range, Optional myDelimiter As String) Dim r As Range For Each r In myRange Concat1 = Concat1 & r & myDelimiter Next r If Len(myDelimiter) > 0 Then Concat1 = Left(Concat1, Len(Concat1) - Len(myDelimiter)) End If End Function
This function requires a range and provides for an optional delimiter. The last "If" statement removes the final trailing delimiter from the concatenated string. With the CONCAT1 function, cells can be added and deleted within the range, without the maintenance required by CONCATENATE or ampersand formulas. All you need to do is call the function in one of the following manners:
=CONCAT1(C8:E10) =CONCAT1(C8:E10,"|")
The second method of calling the function uses the optional delimiter, which is inserted between each of the concatenated values from the range C8:E10. There is a problem with this, however: If a cell in that range is empty, then you can end up with two sequential delimiters. If you prefer to have only a single delimiter, then you need to make one small change to the function:
Function Concat2(myRange As Range, Optional myDelimiter As String) Dim r As Range For Each r In myRange If Len(r.Text) > 0 Then Concat2 = Concat2 & r & myDelimiter End If Next r If Len(myDelimiter) > 0 Then Concat2 = Left(Concat2, Len(Concat2) - Len(myDelimiter)) End If End Function
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11247) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Concatenating Ranges of Cells.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
If you type information into a workbook, you may want to make sure that what you type is always stored in uppercase. ...
Discover MoreWhen you copy a worksheet and then need to make changes to information in that worksheet (such as changing month names), ...
Discover MoreIf you have a worksheet that contains a bunch of cells that contain nothing but spaces, you may be looking for a way to ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2023-11-21 17:05:56
J. Woolley
My Excel Toolbox includes the following function to combine values, arrays, and/or cell ranges into a delimited text string:
=JoinAsText(Delimiter,IgnoreEmpty,Values,...)
This function matches Excel 2019's TEXTJOIN. If Delimiter is a null string (""), the result is the same as CONCAT. For more, see my 2023-11-17 comment here: https://excelribbon.tips.net/T008663_Pulling_Initial_Letters_from_a_String.html
Also, see https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox/
2019-09-12 09:18:32
Chuck Trese
A slightly more concise version of concat2:
(Instead of removing the extra delimiter at the end, it only adds the delimiter when it is needed.)
Public Function concat2(myRange As Range, Optional myDelimiter As String)
Dim r As Range
For Each r In myRange
If Len(concat2) > 0 And Len(r.Text) > 0 Then concat2 = concat2 & myDelimiter
concat2 = concat2 & r
Next r
End Function
2016-02-05 08:10:44
Paul Rowell
I made a couple of changes to Concat2:
Function Concat2(myRange As Range, Optional myDelimiter As String) As String
Dim r As Range
For Each r In myRange
If Len(r.Text) > 0 Then
Concat2 = Concat2 & r & myDelimiter
End If
Next r
If Len(myDelimiter) > 0 And Len(Concat2) > 0 Then
Concat2 = Left(Concat2, Len(Concat2) - Len(myDelimiter))
End If
End Function
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments