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Merge and Combine Columns without Losing Data in Excel

When combining columns of data in Excel, regardless of your Excel version, the "Merge and Center" command from the Home tab's Alignment group will retain only the upper-left value and discard the data from the other cells. This tutorial explains how to merge or combine different columns of data into a single cell or column in Excel.


Merge columns of data into one cell without losing data using Clipboard

To merge multiple columns into only one cell without losing any data in Excel, you can use the Clipboard to solve the problem easily.

1. First of all, enable the Clipboard by clicking the Anchor button  at the bottom-right corner of Clipboard group on the Home tab. See screenshot:

2. Select the columns you will merge, and press Ctrl + C keys to copy them.
Tip: You can also click Home > Copy to copy them.

Now the columns are copied and listed in the Clipboard at once.

3. Double click into a blank cell where you will place the copied columns, and then click the copied item in the Clipboard. Now the copied items are filled into the active cell as below screenshot shown.

So far, all selected columns are merged and placed into the specified cell as below screenshot shown.

Combine multiple columns without losing data and number format in Excel

Kutools for Excel's Combine Rows, Columns or Cells without Losing Data utility effortlessly combines multiple cells, rows, or columns without data loss. Additionally, this tool offers the flexibility to preserve the original date and number formats in the combined results.

Kutools for Excel - Supercharge Excel with over 300 essential tools. Enjoy a full-featured 30-day FREE trial with no credit card required! Get It Now

Merge columns of data into one without losing data using the Ampersand (&)

To merge multiple columns of data into one column without any data losing in Excel, you can apply either of the below formulas.

  • The formula to combine multiple cells: =A2&B2&C2&...
  • In Cell D2, please enter the below formula, and then drag the fill handle down to apply the formula to other cells in the active column.
    =A2&B2&C2

    As shown in the image below, you'll notice that the data from each column has been successfully merged into a single column.

  • The formula to combine multiple cells with a blank: =A2&" "&B2&" "&C2&" "&...
  • Tip: You can replace the space (" ") with any other separator you need, such as a comma (", ").
    In Cell D2, please enter the below formula, and then drag the fill handle down to apply the formula to other cells in the active column.
    =A2&" "&B2&" "&C2

Notes:

  • In both formulas, A2, B2, and C2 are cells in the first row you will merge into one, and you can change them as you need.
  • To remove formulas from the merging results, you can copy the merge results (D2:D14) first, then right click on the range of merging results, and select the Values icon from the Paste Options in the context menu as below screenshot shown, or apply Kutools > To Actual to remove formulas but keep the merging results with only one click. Read more...
  • Both formulas clear the number formatting in the merging results. For example, the date “2/15/2019” will be merged as “43511”, the percentage “5.79%” will be merged as “0.0579” etc. To keep the original number formatting, consider using Kutools for Excel's Combine Rows, Columns or Cells without Losing Data utility.

Merge columns of data into one without losing data using CONCATENATE

If there are multiple cells in each row, manually applying the formula =A1&" "&B1&" "&C1 for each cell can be a time-consuming task. Here, I will introduce the CONCATENATE function as a more efficient solution to address this issue.

1. Select a blank cell, enter the below formula, and then highlight A2:C2&",". (Note: In the formula, A2:C2 is the the range of cells in the first row to be merged, and "," is used to separate each cell's content by a comma.)

=CONCATENATE(A2:C2&",")

2. Press F9 key to convert the highlight part of the formula to values.

3. Now that the highlight part of the formula is replaced with the cell content automatically, please remove the curly brackets { and }.

4. Press the Enter key to get the merging result.

Tip: You may have noticed that there is a comma at the end of the merged result. To remove it from the result, in the 3rd step, when you delete the curly brackets, also delete the last comma.

Notes:

  • This method is particularly convenient when you need to merge three or more cells. If you only need to merge two cells, you can use the following formula and press Enter to obtain the result directly.
  • =CONCATENATE(A2," ",B2)
  • For users of Excel 2019 and newer versions, consider utilizing the TEXTJOIN function and pressing Enter to get the result.
  • =TEXTJOIN(" ",TRUE,A2:C2)
  • The formula clears the number formatting in the merging results. For example, the date “2/15/2019” will be merged as “43511”, the percentage “5.79%” will be merged as “0.0579” etc. To keep the original number formatting, consider using Kutools for Excel's Combine Rows, Columns or Cells without Losing Data utility.

Quickly merge columns of data without losing data with Kutools for Excel

Kutools for Excel simplifies the data merging process with its Combine Rows, Columns or Cells without Losing Data utility. This tool enables effortless merging of rows, columns, or cells with customizable separators and provides the flexibility to preserve the original number formatting in the merged results, ensuring data integrity for dates, percentages, currencies, and other formatted numbers.

Kutools for Excel - Packed with over 300 essential tools for Excel. Enjoy a full-featured 30-day FREE trial with no credit card required! Download now!

In this section, I will guide you through the process of merging columns with Kutools for Excel:

1. After installing Kutools for Excel, select the columns of data you want to merge, and then click Kutools > Merge & Split > Combine Rows, Columns or Cells without Losing Data. See screenshot:

2. In the Combine Columns or Rows dialog box, specify the options as follows:
(1) Select the Combine columns option under To combine selected cells according to following options;
(2) Specify a separator for the combined data. Here I selected the Space option;
(3) Specify the location you want to place your combined result;
(4) Specify how you want to deal with the combined cells: You can choose to keep or delete contents from those combined cells, or merge those combined cells. See screenshot:

3. Click Ok to combine multiple columns into one column without losing data. And you will get the following results:

The Combine Rows, Columns or Cells without Losing Data feature of Kutools for Excel supports a variety of combination scenarios in Excel. Experience it for yourself with a free trial!


Demo: Combine Multiple Columns without Losing Data in Excel

Kutools for Excel: Over 300 handy tools at your fingertips! Start your 30-day free trial with no feature limitations today. Download Now!

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Comments (73)
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This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Great solution, saved a lot of time and labour.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
JUMP not just.....another great invention spell check that changes real words to different words. Man the next generation relying on these faulty technologies is going to be lost without a parachute.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
I cannot believe Microsoft makes it so difficult to use Excel. Aren't computer programs suppose to make life easier not more difficult. I mean we are talking about a simple merge of columns yet Excel makes you just through hoops to accomplish something that should take one keystroke. It is a joke, and the joke is on us, the users. I despise Microsoft.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
I agree with you
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Use the concatenate option it's easier! Concatenate (A1,B1,C1) write conc.... and it will show up
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
VERY GOOD. ITS WORKING. THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
It was Perfecttttt, Thanks
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Ineed to convert a string of numbers (06191948) in a column to read 06/19/1948 can anyone help me?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Thank you!!! That worked perfectly!
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
I cannot get the space to appear. This is my formula =G4&" "&I4. I am using Excel 2013.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
I am trying to merge and combine 4 columns, with the data from each column being on a separate line. For Example, I want it to look like this when I have finished: Data from Column 1 Data from Column 2 Data from Column 3 Data from Column 4 How do I do that? I tried using the transpose function in "Paste Special," but I am still getting 4 separate cells (1 for each of the columns I'm trying to merge). How do I get the 4 columns of data merged into 1 cell, with 4 lines
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Grate work......Thanks Big...
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