Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Combining Columns.

Combining Columns

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 22, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021


2

There may be times when you have a need to concatenate cells together. For instance, you may have information in three columns, but you want it combined together into the first column of each row. The following macro, StuffTogether, will do just that. It examines the range of cells you select, and then moves everything from each cell in a row into the first cell of the selection.

Sub StuffTogether()
    Dim R As Range
    Dim C As Range
    Dim sTemp As String

    If Selection.Cells.Count > 1 Then
        For Each R In Selection.Rows
            sTemp = ""
            For Each C In R.Cells
                If Trim(C.Text) > "" Then
                    sTemp = sTemp & Trim(C.Text) & " "
                End If
            Next C
            R.ClearContents
            R.Cells(1) = Trim(sTemp)
        Next R
    Else
        MsgBox "Only one cell selected"
    End If
End Sub

You should note that the macro will only work if you select more than a single cell.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11944) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Combining Columns.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Understanding Footnotes and Endnotes

Footnotes and endnotes are often used in scholarly and formal writing as a way to provide additional information about a ...

Discover More

Selecting the Current Region

Most of Excel's commands affect whatever cells you select prior to invoking the command. Some commands, however, affect ...

Discover More

Left and Right Aligned on One Line in a Label

If you need to put information on a label that has both left- and right-aligned information on the same line, it can be ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Deleting Everything Up to a Character Sequence

Sometimes you have too much information in a cell and you need to "pare down" what is there to get to the info you really ...

Discover More

Typing Check Marks into Excel

Need to enter a check mark into a cell? There are a number of ways you can get the desired character, depending on the ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of Cells Containing Only Spaces

If you have a worksheet that contains a bunch of cells that contain nothing but spaces, you may be looking for a way to ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is nine minus 5?

2022-10-22 22:40:26

Jessica Weissman

For Office 365 you could use Textjoin in a formula with a blank delimiter.


2022-10-22 07:54:48

Andy

In Excel 365:

=TEXTJOIN(" ",,A1:A3)

And fill down.

Assuming that you have text in the first 3 columns to concatenate.


This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.