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How to copy data from single cells and paste them to merged cells in Excel?

Author Xiaoyang Last modified

Copying data from single cells to merged cells in Excel can be tricky. When using the standard copy-and-paste features, you may encounter an error message stating, "We can’t do that to a merged cell." This tutorial explains a step-by-step method to bypass this issue, ensuring your data is transferred smoothly and efficiently.

A screenshot showing data from single cells pasted to merged cells in Excel

 Copy data from single cells and paste them to merged cells

Please do with the following steps to complete this task:

Step1: Select the merged cells where you will paste the cell values, and then copy and paste the below formula into the formula bar:

=INDEX($A$2:$A$7,COUNTA(C$2:C2))

Note: In the above formula, "A2:A7" is the cells that you want to copy, and "C2" is the first cell of the merged cells you want to paste the data.

Step2: After pasting the formula, press "Ctrl" + "Enter" keys together, and you will get the following error message. Just click the "OK" button.

Step3: After that, you will see the following result: zero values in the merged cell.

A screenshot showing zero values in merged cells after applying the formula

Step4: Next, please click "File" > "Options" to go to the "Excel Options" dialog box. Then, click "Formulas" tab from the left panel, and then, check" Enable iterative calculation" checkbox, see screenshot:

A screenshot of the Excel Options dialog box with the Enable iterative calculation option highlighted

Step5: Finally, click "OK" button to close the dialog box. And now, you can see the unmerged cells have been copied to the merged cells as follows:

A screenshot showing data successfully copied from single cells to merged cells in Excel

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