How to Merge Cells/Tables in Google Sheets Without Losing Data

When working with a large set of data or making unique analyses on Google Sheets, you may sometimes be required to merge cells, which may be a bit confusing for someone doing it for the first.

But guess what? Merging cells in Google Sheets isn’t as challenging as you imagine it to be, and we will show you how to do that seamlessly.

In this article, we will do a deep dive into how to merge cells/tables in Google Sheets without losing any data. By following the simple step-by-step guide we will highlight in today’s guide, you should be able to merge cells/tables in Google Sheets without sweating it.

Let’s cut to the chase and get started, shall we?

What you should know about merging cells in Google Sheets

Merging cells in Google Sheets means combining cells into one. What’s cool about it is that it doesn’t affect the rest of the cells, which is a good thing. When merging cells in Google Sheets, you typically have three options including merge all, merge horizontally, or merge vertically. These options allow users to merge rows and columns.

While merging cells in Google Sheets is important for extending titles or texts across multiple cells, it is also important for making categories in your data, especially when creating a dashboard.

Before we delve into the nitty-gritty of today’s guide, let us mention right away that merging cells in Google Sheets is different from merging texts. When you merge a cell, what happens is that Google automatically retains the values in the first cell. On the flip side, when combining text, you retain all the values.

In this guide, we will show you different ways to merge cells/tables in Google Sheets, including using the CONCATENATE and JOIN formulas.

Let’s start off with the simple method of merging cells in Google Sheets.

Method 1: Using the merge cells command

This is one of the easiest ways to merge cells in Google Sheets and we will show you how to go about it in a bit.

For this method, we will use the following sample data:

From the image above, we would like to merge the header row that has the text “Products sold.” Here are the steps you can take to achieve that.

Step 1: Select the cells you want to merge

To start, you need to select the cells you’d like to merge. For this guide, we will go ahead and select cells B1, C1, and D1.

Step 2: Format > Merge cells > Merge Horizontally

With the cells we would like to merge selected, head to the Format menu and select the option for Merge cells. You’ll be presented with different merging options, choose the one that works best for you. For this guide, we will use the Merge horizontally option.

After executing the steps outlined above, you should notice that all three selected cells have now been merged. Here is what ours looks like:

If this sounds somewhat complicated, you can use the toolbar options to merge cells in Google Sheets. Here is how it works.

Start by selecting the cells you’d like to merge. As we showed you in the earlier steps, select cells B1, C1, and D1. With those cells selected, head over to the toolbar menu and click on the “Merge cells” icon. This action will automatically merge the select cells.

In case you’re a bit confused about the steps outlined above, the video below should provide some clarifications.

Merge cells in Google Sheets using the Concatenate function

While there are different ways to merge cells/tables in Google Sheets, one of the easiest ways to do it is to use the CONCATENATE function. If you’re just hearing about the word CONCATENATE for the first time, it would interest you to know that it is a verb that means to unite or combine.

What we like about the CONCATENATE function is that it makes it easy for Google Sheets users to merge the text in multiple cells into a single cell.

Although using the CONCATENATE function to merge cells/tables in Google Sheets can be a little tricky, especially if you’re attempting this for the first time, we will take a few minutes to show you how to use the CONCATENATE function.

Here is a short explanation of the CONCATENATE function:

=CONCATENATE(text1, [text2], …)

Text 1 as shown in the formula above refers to the first item to join
Text 2 represents the second item to join.

Merging Cells in Google Sheets without losing data

Now that you know a thing or two about the CONCATENATE function, it’s time we delve into the practical aspect of using this function to merge cells/tables in Google Sheets.

For this Google Sheets tutorial, we will be using the following sample data to merge cells/tables in Google Sheets.

Ready to get into the exciting part of today’s tutorial? Well, here are the steps to follow to merge cells/tables in Google Sheets using the CONCATENATE function:

Step 1: Select the cells you want to merge

The first thing you need to do is select an empty cell next to the cells you’d like to merge. For this tutorial, we will use cell D2, so go ahead and select that cell.

Step 2: Type the CONCATENATE formula

After selecting an empty cell close the cell you’d like to merge, you’ll need to type in the following formula in the formula tab:

=CONCATENATE(A2, “”,B2)

After typing the formula, hit enter on your keyboard and watch the magic happen.

If you executed the steps exactly how we showed you, you should have a spreadsheet that looks like this:

From the image above, you’ll notice that we have now successfully merged cells A2 and B2 in cell D2. But we aren’t done yet. Since we only merged cells A2 and B2, we need to do the same for other cells.

But instead of going at it manually, which can waste your time, you can use Google Sheets auto-fill option. Here is a short video demo showing you how to use Google Sheets auto-fill option to merge the other cells in our spreadsheet.

An alternative way to merge tables in Google Sheets

Besides using the CONCATENATE function to merge cells in Google Sheets, there are also other methods you can use to merge tables in Google Sheets. One popular option is to use the JOIN formula. What’s special about the JOIN function is that it is great for combining data from multiple cells into a single cell.

Let’s assume we want to merge cells A2 and B2 and preserve the data from each cell, we can do that seamlessly using the JOIN formula.

Using the same sample data we used for the CONCATENATE method of merging cells/tables in Google Sheets, here is how to merge cells/tables in Google Sheets using the JOIN formula.

Step 1: Select the cell where you’d like your data merged

For this step, all you need to do is select the cell where you’d like the result generated. For our guide, we will use Cell D2.

Step 2: Type in the formula

With the cell where we would like our result merged selected, head over to the formula bar and type in the following formula.

=JOIN(“ “, A2,B2).

After typing the formula, hit the Enter key on your keyboard. You should see the result generated in the selected cell.

If you typed in the formula exactly as we showed you, your spreadsheet should look something like this:

As we showed you in the first method, instead of doing the same process for the other cells, which can be time-consuming, you can save yourself the stress by using Google auto-fill option. The video below shows you how to go about it.

Final thoughts

If you have struggled to merge cells/tables in Google Sheets in the past, we are sure today’s guide has made your job easier.

In today’s Google Sheets tutorial, we showed you the different methods of merging cells/tables in Google Sheets without losing data. From the simple method of merging cells in Google Sheets to using the CONCATENATE and JOIN formulas, today’s guide provided a comprehensive walkthrough on everything you need to know about merging cells/tables in Google Sheets.

And to make your job even easier, we included several screenshots and video illustrations. In case of any confusion, these resources should guide you on the right steps to take.

We hope today’s guide has been helpful.