However, it’s important to note that the merge cells feature only causes a single cell to span across multiple columns; it does not combine the content from adjactent cells. So when you merge a series of cells, make sure that all but the leftmost are empty, because the content in any other selected cells will disppear (hitting CTRL + Z to undo will get it back). Here’s how to merge cells in Excel 2016; these steps should also work in previous versions such as Excel 2013 and Excel 2010.

  1. Select the cells that you want to merge. You select multiple cells in Excel by holding down the mouse button and dragging the cursor across columns or rows. 
  2. Navigate to the Home tab in the office ribbon, if you aren’t already there.
  3. Select Merge & Center or Merge Across (if you want the text left aligned) from the Merge & Center menu. Your single cell will now take up two, three or more. If you change your mind,  you can hit CTRL + Z to undo right away or select Unmerge cells from the Merge menu later.

Microsoft Excel Tips

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