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 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:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (12458) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Shortcut to Merge Cells.
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2017-12-04 11:00:11
Peter Atherton
Dean Cardno
I liked your tip, but it can be shorter - this one toggles the the alignment.
Sub CentreToggle()
'Dean Cardno; xlTips
With Selection
If .HorizontalAlignment = xlCenterAcrossSelection Then
.HorizontalAlignment = xlLeft
Else: .HorizontalAlignment = xlCenterAcrossSelection
End If
End With
End Sub
2017-12-04 10:18:41
Bryan Marks
Hi, Bill,
Try this Excel Tip from Allen to see if that helps.
https://excelribbon.tips.net/T013440_Alphabetizing_Worksheet_Tabs.html
Bryan
2017-12-03 15:19:06
I have a number of spreadsheets in a workbook, each being labeled year-month (Example: 2017-01, 2015-12, etc.). They were not created in sequence. Is there a way to auto sort the spreadsheets without having to manually move them?
2017-12-02 15:14:29
Dean Cardno
Sometimes merging cells is necessary, but in general it causes more problems that it solves, since it screws up subsequent paste operations. You can get the same visual result by formatting as 'centre across selection' - which is usually the reason for the merged cells in the first place. I have included the following macro in my personal macro add-in file to un-merge merged cells and apply the desired formatting:
Sub CentreAcross()
With Selection
.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenterAcrossSelection
.WrapText = True
.Orientation = 0
.AddIndent = False
.IndentLevel = 0
.ShrinkToFit = False
.ReadingOrder = xlContext
.MergeCells = False
End With
End Sub
I attached it to an icon in the QAT, and use it frequently.
2017-12-02 11:08:58
Ronmio
I've never been a fan of merging cells because it can make manipulating the spreadsheet difficult. But I often want to center across a selection because it is pretty innocuous. Typically, I use this when I want a super heading to center across subordinate headings. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn't provide a quick way to do this. So I created a macro and added it to my Quick Access Toolbar. It lets me easily center across a selection or, if it is already centered, it un-centers it. The VBA code I created is ...
Sub CenterAcrossSelection() ' Centers and un-centers across a selection
With Selection
If .HorizontalAlignment = xlCenterAcrossSelection Then ' Checks to see if it is already centered
.HorizontalAlignment = xlGeneral ' If so, un-center it using the General alignment
Else ' If it's not already centered, then
.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenterAcrossSelection ' Center across the selection
.VerticalAlignment = xlCenter ' Also center it vertically
End If
End With
End Sub
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