How to Merge Cells in Excel 2016

Edited 1 week ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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Microsoft Excel 2016 is a powerful tool that allows users to efficiently organize data in spreadsheets, apply a variety of calculations, and create attractive reports. One of its useful features is the ability to merge cells. Merging cells in Excel can be very helpful when you want to format a spreadsheet in a more readable way, especially when creating headers that span across multiple columns. In this comprehensive guide, we'll learn all about merging cells in Excel 2016. We'll talk about the different methods, best practices, what to avoid, and what to consider when deciding to merge cells.

Understanding merging sales

Merging cells in Excel refers to the process of combining two or more adjacent cells into one larger cell. The main purpose of merging is to clear clutter from a spreadsheet or create a larger cell for a heading or title that spans across multiple columns or rows. It can visually enhance the layout of your spreadsheet.

Why merge cells?

Before proceeding with the instructions to merge cells, it is good to understand the reasons for merging:

• Presentation: Merging makes a spreadsheet look neater and more organized, especially when you need to center headings within a series of data.
• Improved readability: Larger titles and headers can be created by merging cells, making it easier for others to understand the data layout at a glance.
• Design: Merged cells help in the design aspect by providing visual appeal, such as creating larger blocks for important information or decorative headings.

Ways to merge cells in Excel 2016

Excel 2016 provides multiple methods to merge cells, and depending on your requirement, you can choose the most convenient method.

Merge and center

This is the most commonly used method for merging cells, usually with the purpose of creating a heading or title. This option not only merges the selected cells, but also centers the content in the resulting merged cells.

Steps to use Merge & Center:

1. Select the range of cells you want to merge.
2. Go to the Home tab on the ribbon.
3. Click the Merge & Center button in the Alignment group.

Merge across

The Merge Across option merges the cells in each row separately. If you select a multi-row range and apply Merge Across, its cells in each row within your selection will be merged.

Steps to use Merge Across:

1. Select the range of cells that spans multiple rows and columns that you want to merge.
2. Click the small arrow next to the Merge & Center button.
3. Select Merge Across from the dropdown menu.

Merge cells

This option merges the selected cells into just one cell, without any other formatting, such as centering.

Steps to merge cells using Merge Cells option:

1. Select the adjacent cells you want to merge together.
2. Click the small arrow next to the Merge & Center button.
3. Select Merge Cells from the dropdown menu.

Detach the cells

If you need to split merged cells into separate cells again, Excel makes this easy with the Unmerge Cells option.

Steps to separate cells:

1. Select the merged cells that you want to separate.
2. Click the small arrow next to the Merge & Center button.
3. Select Unmerge Cells from the dropdown menu.

Example

Let's look at some practical examples of how you can use cell merging in a real spreadsheet project:

Example 1: Creating a report header

Let's say you're preparing a financial report where you want a large title at the top of your sheet. You can merge the first few rows and columns to accommodate the title.

1. Select cells A1:D1 to merge them to create the title.
2. Use the Merge & Center function from the Alignment tab.
3. Type your title, for example, "Quarterly Financial Report."

Example 2: Combining column headers

If you have a table where you want grouped headers for related columns, you can merge the header cells.

1. Suppose columns B, C, and D relate to sales; select B1:D1.
2. Merge the cells using \`Merge & Center\` and label them as "Sales Data".

Things to keep in mind before merging cells

Merging cells can potentially cause problems, especially when doing data analysis or working with large datasets. Here are some things to consider:

• Data loss: When you merge cells, only the contents of the top-left cell will remain intact. All other data in the selected cells will be lost.
• Sorting problems: Merged cells can cause problems with data sorting and filtering. If the cells are merged, Excel will not be able to handle sorting the data correctly.
• Data entry problems: Entering data into a worksheet that contains merged cells can be difficult because not all cells are available for data entry.

Best practices for merging cells in Excel 2016

Given the potential complications that can arise from merging cells, it's best to follow a few guidelines when working with this feature:

• Minimal merging: Merge cells only when absolutely necessary. Consider whether the same objective could be achieved with better formatting options.
• Use Center Across Selection: Instead of merging, use \`Center Across Selection\` for headings. This maintains text alignment while keeping the cells separate.
• Document the changes: If a worksheet uses a lot of merged cells, document what was merged and why, to help with future reference or audits.

Options for merging cells

There are a few alternatives to merging cells that may help achieve the same result without the potential drawbacks:

Center across selection

Instead of merging cells, use \`Center Across Selection\` to center the text in the selected cells without changing their structure.

1. Select the cells you want to center the text over.
2. Open the Format Cells dialog using \`Ctrl + 1\`.
3. Under the Alignment tab, select \`Center Across Selection\` in the Horizontal drop-down.

Conclusion

Merging cells in Excel 2016 is a handy feature for formatting spreadsheets and presenting data in a professional and organized manner. Merging can enhance the visual appeal and readability of your documents, but it is also important to be aware of the limitations and potential pitfalls involved. This guide provides detailed methods, examples, best practices, and alternatives that can help users effectively use the cell merging functionality in Excel 2016, while avoiding common errors and maintaining data integrity.

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