How to Join Text from Multiple Cells into One Cell in Excel
If your worksheet contains names, addresses, product labels, or other text split across multiple cells, you may need to combine them into one cell. For example, joining first name and last name, or combining city, state, and ZIP code into a complete address.
Excel offers several easy ways to do this. You can use formulas to return a combined result, use Kutools Formula Helper if you do not want to remember formulas, or use a merge-style tool that combines the original cell contents without losing data.
Join Text from Multiple Cells with Formulas
Formulas are the most common way to join text in Excel. They keep the original cells unchanged and return the combined text in another cell. Depending on your Excel version and whether you need to ignore blank cells, you can use one of the following methods.
Use TEXTJOIN Function (Excel 2019 and later, and Microsoft 365)
The TEXTJOIN function is the most flexible formula for joining text from multiple cells. It lets you set a delimiter once and can ignore blank cells automatically.
Supported Versions:
TEXTJOIN is available in Excel 2019 and later, as well as Microsoft 365.
- Select a blank cell where you want to place the joined result.
- Enter the following formula:
=TEXTJOIN("-",TRUE,A2:C2) - Press Enter to get the result.
- Drag the fill handle down to apply the formula to other rows.
Note:
- In this formula, "-" is the delimiter, TRUE tells Excel to ignore blank cells, and A2:C2 is the range to join. You can replace the hyphen with a space, comma, slash, or any delimiter you need.
- If you need to use different separators between different cells, the CONCAT function is a better choice.
Use CONCAT Function (Excel 2016 and later, and Microsoft 365)
The CONCAT function is another way to combine text from multiple cells into one cell. It is the modern replacement for the older CONCATENATE function and can also work with cell ranges.
Supported Versions:
CONCAT is available in Excel 2016 and later, as well as Microsoft 365. For earlier versions, use CONCATENATE instead, which works in a similar way.
- Select a blank cell for the result.
- Enter this formula:
=CONCAT(A2,", ",B2,"-",C2) - Press Enter.
- Drag the fill handle down if you need to apply the formula to more rows.
Note:
- In this formula, A2, B2, and C2 are the cells to join. The ", " adds a comma and space after A2, and the "-" adds a hyphen between B2 and C2. You can change these delimiters as needed.
- CONCAT is useful when you need to use different separators between different cells, but you must enter each separator manually. If you need to combine many columns with the same separator, TEXTJOIN is usually easier because you only need to enter the separator once.
Use the & Operator (Works in All Excel Versions)
The & operator is a simple way to join text when you only need to combine a few cells. It works in almost all Excel versions.
- Select a blank cell.
- Enter this formula:
=A2&"-"&B2&"-"&C2 - Press Enter.
- Drag the fill handle down if needed.
Note:
When using the & operator, you need to enter each cell reference and delimiter manually. You can replace the delimiters with a space, comma, hyphen, slash, or other characters as needed. This method is simple for a few cells, but the formula can become long if you need to join many cells.
Join Text from Multiple Cells with Formula Helper
If you do not want to remember or write formulas yourself, you can use the Formula Helper feature in Kutools for Excel. It helps you build the joining formula by selecting cells and entering the delimiter in a dialog box.
- Select a blank cell where you want to output the joined text.
- Click Kutools > Formula Helper > Text > Join cell values with delimiter.
- In the Formulas Helper dialog box, select the cells you want to join, then enter the delimiter you need.
- Click OK to insert the formula and return the result.
Result
After clicking OK, Kutools will generate the formula for you and return the combined result in the selected cell. You can then copy the formula down to apply it to other rows.
Note:
This method uses the TEXTJOIN formula, so it requires Excel 2019 and later, as well as Microsoft 365.
Join Text from Multiple Cells by Merging Original Values
To join text without placing a formula in a separate result cell, you can use the Combine Rows, Columns or Cells without Losing Data feature in Kutools for Excel. It combines the selected cell values directly, similar to merging cells, but keeps all original text instead of discarding everything except the upper-left cell value.
- Select the cells or range you want to join. You can select multiple rows or columns and combine each row, each column, or the entire range at once.
- Click Kutools > Merge & Split > Combine Rows, Columns or Cells without Losing Data.
- In the dialog box, choose how to combine the selected cells, such as by rows, by columns, or into one single cell.
- Specify the delimiter you want to use.
- Choose where to place the combined result and how to handle the original cells.
- Click OK or Apply.
Result
After applying the settings, the selected text values will be joined according to your chosen delimiter and output option.
Note:
This method combines the original cell contents directly instead of returning a formula result. If you may need to recalculate or update the joined text later when source data changes, using a formula method such as TEXTJOIN may be a better choice.
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Which Method Should You Use?
| Method | Best for | Things to know |
|---|---|---|
| TEXTJOIN | Joining many cells with the same delimiter | Requires Excel 2019 and later, or Microsoft 365 |
| CONCAT | Using different delimiters between different cells or ranges | You need to enter each cell reference and delimiter manually |
| & operator | Quickly joining a few cells in a simple formula | Works in almost all Excel versions, but can become long with many cells |
| Kutools Formula Helper | Creating the formula without remembering the syntax | Uses TEXTJOIN, so it requires Excel 2019 and later, or Microsoft 365 Download |
| Kutools Combine feature | Joining original values directly without using a formula elsewhere | Better for final results, not dynamic updates Download |
Conclusion
Joining text from multiple cells in Excel can be done in different ways depending on your needs. If you are using Excel 2019 or later, or Microsoft 365, TEXTJOIN is usually the best choice because it can use one delimiter and skip blank cells automatically. If you need more control over each part of the result, CONCAT or the & operator can also work well. For users who do not want to remember or write formulas, Kutools Formula Helper can generate the formula directly.
If you want to combine the original values without using a formula in another cell, the Kutools Combine feature is a practical merge-without-losing-data option.
I hope you found this tutorial helpful. If you’d like to explore more Excel tips and practical solutions, please click here to browse our full collection of Excel tutorials.
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How to join text from different cells into one cell in Excel?
If you have text spread across multiple cells and want to combine it into one cell, Excel offers simple solutions to accomplish this. You can use the CONCATENATE function to merge text into a single destination cell or opt for advanced tools like Kutools for Excel for more flexibility. This article provides step-by-step methods to handle this task efficiently.
Join text from different cells into one with formulas
Join text from different cells into one with Kutools for Excel
Join text from different cells into one with formulas
Applying the Concatenate function to join the different cell contents, please do as follows:
1. Enter this formula: =CONCATENATE(A2,"-",B2,"-",C2) into a blank cell next to your data, see screenshot:
2. Then drag the fill handle down to the cells that you want to join, and the different cells have been merged into one cell by the separator “-”, see screenshot:
Note: If there are more cells needed to be merged together, please join the cell references as this: =CONCATENATE(A2,"-",B2,"-",C2, "-",D2,"-",E2,...), and you can replace the “-” separator in the formula with any character you prefer.
Join text from different cells into one with Kutools for Excel
Kutools for Excel contains a powerful tool - Combine Rows, Columns or Cells without Losing Data. With this utility, you can quickly merge multiple rows, columns, or ranges of cells into one cell using a separator of your choice.
1. Select the text range that you want to join together.
2. Then click Kutools > Merge & Split > Combine Rows, Columns or Cells without Losing Data, see screenshot:
3. In the Combine Columns or Rows dialog box, please do as follows:
(1) Choose one option that you want to join the text based on, you can join cells based on rows, columns or range or just combine all to one single cell;
(2) Specify a separator for your combined data as you need;
(3) Select a location to put the combined result;
(4) At last, choose the option to deal with the combined cells. You can keep or delete contents from those combined cells, and you can also merge those combined cells.
4. After finishing the above settings, click Ok or Apply button, and all the selected text will be combined according to your settings. See screenshot：
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Demo: Join text from different cells into one cell in Excel
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Table of Contents
- Join text from multiple cells with formulas
- Use TEXTJOIN function (Excel 2019 and later)
- Use CONCAT function (Excel 2016 and later)
- Use the & operator (All Excel versions)
- Join text from multiple cells with Formula Helper (No formula typing)
- Join text from multiple cells by merging original values (No helper column)
- Which Method Should You Use?
- Conclusion
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