Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Shortcut to Merge Cells.

Shortcut to Merge Cells

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated March 13, 2021)

Excel allows you to merge cells together in two ways: using the Merge and Center tool on the ribbon or toolbar, or by using the controls in the Alignment tab of the Format Cells dialog box. If you merge cells quite a bit, you might long for a shortcut that will merge whatever cells you've selected.

Unfortunately, Excel doesn't include such a shortcut. You can, however, create one using a macro. The following is a simple macro to merge whatever cells you've selected:

Sub MergeCells1()
    Selection.Merge
End Sub

After you create the macro, you can assign it to a keyboard shortcut and you are set to go. If you instead want a macro that is a shortcut for the Merge and Center tool, then you can use the following:

Sub MergeCells2()
    With Selection
        .HorizontalAlignment = xlCenter
        .Merge
    End With
End Sub

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3095) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Shortcut to Merge Cells.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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