How to Merge Cells in Excel? (Guide 2025)

Sometimes, a common formatting in Excel can improve your data presentation, and usually helpful to showcase its accuracy. One such formatting is merging cells. But… how to merge cells in Excel? That’s not a tough one.

Are you seriously seeking the solution? If so, then keep reading because I’ve compiled a guide on merging cells in Excel without losing data quantity and quality. Further, I’ve included the complete process with a keyboard shortcut.

Merging cells means combining two or more adjacent cells into one larger cell to improve the representation of data in Excel.

This process is one of the most commonly used approaches to center titles or labels across multiple columns for better visualization. Although there are various options while merging cells on your Excel sheet, like:

• Merge & Center: Merges cells into one and centers the content in the merged cell.
• Merge Across: Merges cells in each row separately, but does not center the content.
• Merge Cells: Merges all selected cells into one large cell without centering the content.
• Unmerge Cells: This option unmerges the merged cells.

Here is the merging cells shortcut for easy merging:

• ALT + H + M + C for Merge & Center.
• ALT + H + M + A for Merging Across.
• ALT + H + M + U for unmerging cells.

Here is the guide on how to merge cells in Excel and keep all data in the sheet.

• Open Excel.

• Select the cells you want to merge.

• Click on the Merge options.

• Tap on the Merge & Center.

If you are still confused? Watch this video!

When you use the merging cells tool, a powerful formatting tool, it can improve your Excel reports and dashboards. Yes, it’s like alphabetizing, Drop down, and standard errors to improve your data representation.

Moreover, you should consider alternatives like alignment tools or text wrapping to keep your sheets clean and functional for data-driven spreadsheets. Hopefully, the guide is helpful for you to improve your presentation of your data.