Show All

Hide All

You can't split an individual cell, but you can make it appear as if a cell has been split by merging the cells above it. For example, you want to split cell A2 into three cells that will appear, side-by-side, under cell A1 (you want to utilize cell A1 as a heading). It is not possible to split cell A2, but you can achieve a similar effect by merging cells A1, B1, and C1 into one, single cell. You then enter your data in cells A2, B2, and C2. These three cells appear as if they are split under one larger cell (A1) that acts as a heading.

When you merge two or more adjacent horizontal or vertical cells, the cells become one larger cell that is displayed across multiple columns or rows. When you merge multiple cells, the contents of only one cell (the upper-left cell for left-to-right languages, or the upper-right cell for right-to-left languages) appear in the merged cell (merged cell: A single cell that is created by combining two or more selected cells. The cell reference for a merged cell is the upper-left cell in the original selected range.). In the following example, using the Merge & Center command centers the text in the merged cell.

 Important   The contents of the other cells that you merge are deleted.

You can split a merged cell into separate cells again by undoing its merge. If you don't remember where you have merged cells, you can use the Find command to quickly locate any or all merged cells.

• Merge adjacent cells

• Split a merged cell

• Find merged cells

Merge adjacent cells

1. Select two or more adjacent cells that you want to merge.

    Note   Make sure that the data that you want to display in the merged cell is contained in the upper-left cell of the selected range. Only the data in the upper-left cell will remain in the merged cell. Data in all the other cells of the selected range will be deleted.

2. On the Home tab, in the Alignment group, click Merge and Center.

   

   The cells will be merged in a row or column, and the cell contents will be centered in the merged cell. To merge cells without centering, click the arrow next to Merge and Center, and then click Merge Across or Merge Cells.

    Note   If the Merge and Center button is unavailable, the selected cells might be in Edit mode, or the cells might be inside an Excel table. To cancel Edit mode, press ENTER. You cannot merge cells that are inside an Excel table.

3. To change the text alignment in the merged cell, select the cell, and then click any of the alignment buttons in the Alignment group on the Home tab.

 Top of Page

Split a merged cell

1. Select the merged cell.

   When you select a merged cell, the Merge and Center button also appears selected in the Alignment group on the Home tab.

   

2. To split the merged cell, click Merge and Center .

   The contents of the merged cell will appear in the upper-left cell of the range of split cells.

 Top of Page

Find merged cells

1. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Find & Select.

   

2. Click Find.
3. On the Find tab, click Options, and then click Format.
4. On the Alignment tab, under Text control, select the Merge cells check box, and then click OK.
5. Do one of the following:
   • To find the next occurrence of a merged cell, click Find Next.

     Excel selects the next merged cell on the worksheet.

   • To find all merged cells, click Find All.

     Excel displays a list of all merged cells in the bottom section of the Find and Replace dialog box. When you select a merged cell in this list, Excel selects that merged cell on the worksheet.

 Top of Page

• How to diag. split a cell for two Headings (for row AND column)?
• How to split the unmerge cell in Excel?
• I can't see the data (###) in a merged area?
• How do I auto fit when the cells are merged together?
• How do I merge two cells without deleting data from the cell?