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: Shortcut to Merge Cells.

Shortcut to Merge Cells

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 11, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021

3

Excel allows you to merge cells together in two ways: using the Merge and Center tool on the ribbon or toolbar, or by using the controls in the Alignment tab of the Format Cells dialog box. If you merge cells quite a bit, you might long for a keyboard shortcut that will merge whatever cells you've selected.

Unfortunately, Excel doesn't include such a shortcut. You can, however, create one using a macro. The following is a simple macro to merge whatever cells you've selected:

Sub MergeCells1()
    Selection.Merge
End Sub

After you create the macro, you can assign it to a keyboard shortcut and you are set to go. If you instead want a macro that is a shortcut for the Merge and Center tool, then you can use the following:

Sub MergeCells2()
    With Selection
        .HorizontalAlignment = xlCenter
        .Merge
    End With
End Sub

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 (12458) 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: Shortcut to Merge Cells.

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

Getting Audible Feedback

You can add a bit of sound to your editing tasks by turning on Word's sound capabilities. This tip shows where this ...

Discover More

Quickly Entering Data

Excel includes a handy shortcut for entering data that is similar to whatever you entered in the cell above your entry ...

Discover More

Special Symbols Display Incorrectly

When sharing your documents with others, you may occasionally have a problem where some of the symbols used in your ...

Discover More

Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Specifying Font Color in a Formula

Do you need to change text color based on the result of a formula? This tip provides a couple of ways you can accomplish ...

Discover More

Formatting for Hundredths of Seconds

When you display a time in a cell, Excel normally displays just the hours, minutes, and seconds. If you want to display ...

Discover More

Changing Cell Colors

If you need to change the color with which a particular cell is filled, the easier method is to use the Fill Color tool, ...

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.

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

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?

2023-02-13 07:15:30

Steve J

This message from the Ribbon merge button should be re-written to "This is a diabolical way of creating a title that spans multiple columns"

(see Figure 1 below)


How this button has been allowed to remain on the main ribbon is a mystery, in IMHO it should be replaced with a Centre Across Selection button & the merge facility relegated to the Alignment dropdown menu.
Listen to any MVP & they advise against using merge in most circumstances.

Figure 1. The worst Excel advice ever !

2023-02-12 10:29:19

J. Woolley

For more about Center Across Selection, see https://excelribbon.tips.net/T012183_Creating_a_Center_Across_Selection_Button.html

2023-02-11 14:47:46

Mark Watson

Please DON'T Merge cells. They make doing more advanced activities very difficult if not impossible. Instead use "Center Across Selection" on the Alignment tab of the Format Cells pop-up.

If I had a nickel for every time I had to undo Merges (usually Merge and Center) to be able to even simple things like Insert Column or Copy and Paste I'd be retired already ;-)

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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2024 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.