Combine columns in Excel without losing data - 3 quick ways
May 30, 2025 am 09:40 AMFrom this brief article, you'll discover how to merge multiple Excel columns into one without losing any data.
Imagine you have a table in Excel, and your goal is to combine two columns, row by row. For instance, you might want to merge the First Name & Last Name columns into a single column, or bring together several columns like Street, City, Zip, and State into a single "Address" column, separated by commas, so you can later print the addresses on envelopes.
Unfortunately, Excel lacks a built-in tool for this task. Although there’s the Merge button ("Merge & Center" etc.), if you pick two adjacent cells to merge them, as shown below:
You’ll encounter the error message "Merging cells only keeps the upper-left cell value, and discards the other values." (Excel 2013) or "The selection contains multiple data values. Merging into one cell will keep the upper-left most data only." (Excel 2010, 2007)
Later in this article, you'll find three methods to merge data from multiple columns into one without losing data and without needing VBA macros. If you're seeking the fastest approach, bypass the first two and jump directly to the third method.
Combining Two Columns Using Excel Formulas --------------------------------------------Suppose you have a client information table and wish to merge two columns (First & Last names) into one (Full Name).
Insert a new column into your table. Position the mouse pointer on the column header (this is column D in our scenario), right-click the mouse, and select "Insert" from the context menu. Let's label the newly added column as "Full Name".
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In cell D2, input the following CONCATENATE formula:
=CONCATENATE(B2," ",C2)
In Excel 2016 - Excel 365, you can also use the CONCAT function for the same purpose:
=CONCAT(B2," ",C2)
Here, B2 and C2 represent the addresses of the First Name and Last Name, respectively. Note that there is a space between the quotation marks " " in the formula. This serves as a separator between the merged names; you can opt for any other symbol as a separator, such as a comma.
Similarly, you can join data from several cells into one, using any separator of your choice. For example, you can combine addresses from three columns (Street, City, Zip) into one.
Copy the formula across all other cells in the Full Name column. Alternatively, refer to how to apply the same formula to multiple cells simultaneously.
Now, we’ve combined the names from two columns into one, but this remains a formula. If we delete the First Name and/or Last Name, the corresponding data in the Full Name column will also vanish.
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Next, we must convert the formula into a value so we can eliminate unnecessary columns from our Excel sheet. Select all cells containing data in the merged column (select the first cell in the "Full Name" column, then press Ctrl Shift ArrowDown). Copy the contents of the column to the clipboard (Ctrl C or Ctrl Ins, whichever you prefer), then right-click on any cell within the same column ("Full Name") and choose "Paste Special" from the context menu. Select the Values button and click OK.
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Remove the "First Name" & "Last Name" columns, which are no longer required. Click the column B header, press and hold Ctrl while clicking the column C header (another method is to select any cell in column B, press Ctrl Space to select the entire column B, then press Ctrl Shift ArrowRight to select the whole column C). Then, right-click on any of the selected columns and choose Delete from the context menu:
Great! We’ve successfully merged the names from two columns into one! Though, it did require some effort.
Merging Columns Data via Notepad
This method is quicker than the prior one, doesn’t require formulas, but works only for merging adjacent columns and using the same delimiter for all of them.
For instance, we aim to merge two columns with First Names and Last Names into one.
Select both columns you wish to merge: click on B1, press Shift Right Arrow to select C1, then press Ctrl Shift Down Arrow to select all data cells in the two columns.
Copy the data to the clipboard (press Ctrl C or Ctrl Ins, whichever you prefer).
Open Notepad: Start-> All Programs -> Accessories -> Notepad.
Insert the clipboard data into Notepad (press Ctrl V or Shift Ins).
Copy the tab character to the clipboard. Press Tab in Notepad, press Ctrl Shift Home, then press Ctrl X.
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Replace Tab characters in Notepad with the separator you need. Press Ctrl H to open the "Replace" dialog box, paste the Tab character from the clipboard in the "Find what" field, type your separator, eg. Space, comma etc. in the "Replace with" field. Press the "Replace All" button; then press "Cancel" to close the dialog box.
Press Ctrl A to select all text in Notepad, then press Ctrl C to copy it to the clipboard.
Switch back to your Excel worksheet (press Alt Tab), select just B1 cell and paste text from the clipboard into your table.
Rename column B to "Full Name" and delete the "Last name" column.
There are more steps compared to the previous option, but trust me or give it a try - this method is faster. The next one is even faster and simpler!
Joining Columns Using the Merge Cells Add-in for Excel
The fastest and easiest way to combine data from multiple Excel columns into one is to use the Merge Cells add-in included with our Ultimate Suite for Excel.
With the Merge Cells add-in, you can combine data from several cells using any separator you prefer (e.g., space, comma, carriage return, or line break). You can join values row by row, column by column, or merge data from the selected cells into one without losing it.
How to Combine Two Columns in Three Simple Steps
- Download and install the Ultimate Suite.
- Select all cells from two or more columns you wish to merge, go to the Ablebits.com Data tab > Merge group, and click Merge Cells > Merge Columns into One.
The above is the detailed content of Combine columns in Excel without losing data - 3 quick ways. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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