How To Merge Excel Rows Or Columns With Dividers

By Author: Myong Milner
Total Articles: 5
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Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that comes standard with the Microsoft Office Suite. As a spreadsheet program, it is extremely useful for organizing information into separate rows and columns. However, getting information into the Excel spreadsheet can be a time-consuming process. As Excel works using cells, typing information can be sluggish because the correct cell must be selected each time information is entered. It can also make it difficult to edit the data inside the Excel spreadsheet. Cutting, copying, and pasting can be confusing in Excel due to all of the lines that appear around the data you are copying and where it is being pasted.
One technique of merging data within an Excel spreadsheet is through the use of formulas. Formulas are commands that can be entered into a cell in a spreadsheet to produce a designated result. For example, if cell A1 has the number 1 and cell A2 has the number 2, then entering ‘ =SUM(A1:A2) ‘ in cell A3 will show a result of 3. Likewise, transferring data can be done using formulas. Let's hypothetically visualize a scenario where a single sentence ...
... has been broken up word by word from cell A1 down to A3. To list this text in a row rather than a column in cell A4 can be achieved by entering in the formula ‘ =A1&A2&A3 ‘. This will present the data without spaces between the text. There are additional formulas for rearranging data in alternate formats. The challenge arises in trying to memorize all the different formulas that allow for data rearrangement.
A huge productivity increase can be found through a quick stop at http://www.hothotsoftware.com/excel_join_cells_together_software/. Simply searching for ‘How to Merge Rows or Columns of Excel Cells with Dividers' results in a program specifically written to meet your Excel file needs. The program is actually written to work within the Excel spreadsheet program itself, also known as a plugin. This means that upon opening Microsoft Excel, you will see the application displayed within a tab in the ribbon bar across the top of the Excel window. The tab that contains the plugin will say ‘Add-Ins'. The plugin will be listed as ‘Merge Cells'. After clicking the plugin, a new window will appear. This window uses a classic user interface that allows even a basic computer user to understand and master the software in a short amount of time. This new window brings up the commands to merge rows and columns together. First, select which data you want to merge. Then choose where you'd like the merged data to appear. Then specify whether you want to combine the data into rows or columns. There is also the option to merge the cells into one big cell. In the lower half of the window are the choices for dividers separating the data. You can choose anything from a comma, tab, or a custom character. Then click the ‘Merge Cells Now' button to start the process.
To learn more about this software, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmxrpuRQZp8. Data displayed in an Excel spreadsheet is very useful for managing and moving data. Utilize this program to rearrange that information into an organized Excel spreadsheet.