Comments on: CONCATENATE in Excel: combine text strings, cells and columns

In your Excel workbooks, the data is not always structured according to your needs. Often you may want to split the content of one cell into individual cells or do the opposite - combine data from two or more columns into a single column. Continue reading →

Comments page 2. Total comments: 449

  1. I need to add 1st 3 character from column a1 and full TEXT from b1 and in last a word (XY) what is that formula any one suggest

    1. Hi!
      You can get the first and third characters from the text using the MID function.
      MID(A1,1,1)&MID(A1,3,1)
      Concatenate text in one cell as described in the article above.

  2. i Want Suggention multiple columns data combine one cell

  3. I'm trying to concatenate two cells, if either cell has an #N/A in it I need the "#N/A" to appear as such in the concatenation, not the entire value of the field to return "#N/A."
    Ex:
    654321 #N/A
    #N/A 123456

    When concatenated I need these to read as such, "654321#N/A" and "#N/A123456"

    Thank you.

    1. Hello!
      To handle the #N/A! error use the ISNA function. Replace the error with text and concatenate the cell values.

      =IF(ISNA(A2),"#N/A",A2)&IF(ISNA(B2),"#N/A",B2)

      I hope this will help.

      1. Thank you so much!! I was sooooo close!!! :) That was just too "easy"!

  4. How i merged a text like (sex :) and formula like (iferror(vloop.....)

    1. Hi!
      Have you tried the ways described in this blog post? If they don’t work for you, then please describe your task in detail, I’ll try to suggest a solution.

  5. Hello, is there code to format the color of individual strings when you splice them together with &? For example, the code below shows:

    ="Given the current inputs, there are enough supplies for "&'Inv 2/25/22'!O2&" days."

    Could I add a command in this formula to change the color of what results from 'Inv 2/25/22'!O2, or even just make it bold?

    Thank you!

  6. want to concentre(transpose) 1000 rows in single column plz help

  7. I want to merge alphabets of column A in column B like follows:, after VV alphabets may come in many rows like YY so in 5 it should be SS/YY than TT/TT

    SS SS/SS
    TT SS/TT
    UU SS/UU
    VV SS/VV
    TT/TT
    TT/UU
    TT/VV
    UU/UU
    UU/VV

  8. how do i combined 4 columns in one but the other data is not duplicated.. coz some of the data in column 1 is the same in other column

  9. Hi
    I'm having two values in two cells. I want to combine into single cell
    Condition: one cell value must be same and second cell value must be in bracket and red colour. Is it possible?
    7828.49(1589)
    2846.35(1648)

  10. I concatenated a series of strings, I want it should act as a formula not text.

    EX:- There is cell Value contains if statement and changes with the conditions provided, It is Showing value "L5"(it changes with conditions) in cell "e17", now I use concatenate formula "=concatenate("=",e17)" and I will get value "=L5" but I want that this "=L5" behave as a formula and show me the Value of the cell "L5".

  11. I'm trying to concatenate columns with following data to Cells
    A1 A2 A3
    B2 B3
    C2 C3

    result should be A1A2A3, A1B2B3, A1C2C3

    1. Try formula =CONCATENATE(A1,A2,A3,",",CONCATENATE(A1,B2,B3),",",CONCATENATE(A1,C2,C3)) this should work

  12. Can I use concatenate to to form a reference to a defined name?

    I have defined names that reference cells containing physical part subtotals in sheet WIP for each part and location combination.
    PARTALOC1
    PARTALOC2
    PARTBLOC1
    PARTBLOC2

    In sheet data I have rows with PARTx in one column and LOCx in another column. Each time I run a report the data sheet may contain a different set of combinations and appear in different orders.

    I can set a cell to the right of my data that will not be overwritten to concatenate and form the defined name, I can even get as for as "=partaloc1" to appear in the cell, but how do I get it to reference the name partaloc1? From what I have found about indirect it deals only with cell references, sheet names etc, but not names.

  13. Is there a formula for example This information together ?

    For example:
    Column 1- Neil
    Column 2- 30295699

    The result I require is NE5699 in Column 3

    Not sure if this is even possible

    1. Hi Keelan,

      Assuming Neil is in A2, and 30295699 is in B2, enter one of the below formulas in C2:

      =UPPER(LEFT(A2,2))&(RIGHT(B2,4))

      Or

      =CONCATENATE(UPPER(LEFT(A2,2)), (RIGHT(B2,4)))

  14. How does the formula look like when I want to concatenate, say for example :JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY
    and I want the result as "JOHN F KENNEDY" only?

  15. I am trying to make a list where name is
    John Doe email will follow jdoe@school. org
    any ideas? I was able to create the password jd123456
    using the formula ==CONCATENATE(LEFT(C13,2),"123456") but I ma not able to find the format

    1. Try the following formula:
      =(LOWER(CONCATENATE(LEFT(F8),(G8),"@school.org")))
      F8 is First Name, G8 is Last Name.
      Changed to Lower Case.

  16. Hi,
    I would like to create a table with the day sequence of a month, as ...

    01/02/2021
    02/02/2021
    03/02/2021

    but it will be a concat result of ="01/"&G$2&"/2021" for the first line, for example, where G$2 will have the number of the month I want, in this case, fev 02.
    The problem is that I need the result of the concat in data format, which is not happening.

    I hope it sufficiently clear to understand.

    Thanks in advance.

    1. Hello!
      Enter a date in the cell. After that, you can copy this data down along the column. You will receive a sequence of days.
      Or use the formula

      =DATEVALUE("1/"&G2&"/2021")

      I hope it’ll be helpful.

  17. Hello : 0001 code when i use for concatination formula its shows only as 1, How to show as 0001

  18. The example here says to click each cell for Concatenating the cells. However, I have around 6000 records in individual cells that I need to concatenate with a semicolon. May I know the command for the same.

    Example:
    Car 1
    Car 2
    .
    .
    Car 5999
    Car 6000
    Output: Car1; Car 2; . . . Car 5999; Car 6000

    Thanks in advance.

  19. I want to compare the names in two sheets,
    Sheet 1: Cook Ph.D. James L.
    Sheet 2: "Cook" in Last Name column , and "James" in First Name Column

    I need to know the names in both sheet is same person as I don't have any unique identifiers common in both the Excel sheets.
    Now instead of Ph.D it could be anything else like ABC or additional wild characters liek _ or / or -

    Is there a way here?

  20. Hello,
    could someone help me to transform with a formula the first table to the second one?

    ID function
    L1 John
    N3 Mary ID Function
    D2 John L1 John, James,
    L5 James N3 Mary, James
    D4 John ˃ D2 John, James, Mary
    N3 James L5 James
    L1 James D4 John
    D2 James L4 Mary
    L4 Mary
    D2 Mary

    Thankyou

  21. OMG, after trying for an hour to get CONCATENATE to work, I realized that you need to use a semicolon instead of a comma to separate the arguments!
    It seems that all guides on this function are wrong in that regard.

    1. Hello!
      Our examples use the US regional settings. A comma is used as a separator. You are using a European settings that uses a semicolon. These regional settings are set in the Windows control panel.

  22. Hello,
    I am having trouble creating the correct CONC formula for this information. Could you please advise?

    Cell Cell Data
    B2 C
    B3 01
    B4 Data Validation- List (only want to include the first character)
    B5 Data Validation-List (only want to include the first character)
    B6 Data Validation- List (only want to include the first 2 characters)
    B7 234
    B8 Data Validation-List (only want to include the first character)
    B9 21

    B11 Formula that will combine cells B2-B9 in order

    Thanks,
    Daniela

    1. Hello!
      I am assuming CONC is CONCATENATE.
      Try the following formula:

      =CONCATENATE(B2,B3,LEFT(B4,1),LEFT(B5,1),LEFT(B6,1),B7,LEFT(B8,1),B9)

      I hope this will help

  23. Hi,

    If am using Concatenation then what will be the formula when I have go drag the same for number of rows and columns at time???

    Ex. If I have to drag same formula for rows I'll add $ for column number and wise versa.

    Them what about doing both draging at a time???

    Thanks

  24. Thanks very much for tutorials, I like to know if there is a way to concatenate my data which is in single column having following format:
    Addition Cost 30-
    SEP-2005 00:00:00

    Addition Cost 31-
    OCT-2005 00:00:00

    Addition Cost 31-
    MAR-2006 00:00:00

    Addition Cost 28-
    FEB-2007 00:00:00

    Reclass Cost 31-MAR-
    2007 00:00:00

    Addition Cost 31-
    MAR-2007 00:00:00

    As per format provided all i want is to concatenate every consecutive line before a blank row occurs in the following desired format:

    Addition Cost 30-SEP-2005 00:00:00

    Addition Cost 31-OCT-2005 00:00:00

    Addition Cost 31-MAR-2006 00:00:00

    Addition Cost 28-FEB-2007 00:00:00

    Reclass Cost 31-MAR-2007 00:00:00

    Addition Cost 31-MAR-2007 00:00:00

    I have thousands of rows in my data, is there any way that concatenate function can be nested with IF function to concatenate rows between every blank rows.

    Thanks in advance if someone can help me please!

  25. Hi, I was wondering if there's a way to concatenate all permutations within 3 columns and let's say 20 rows. So the obvious would be a2+b2+c2, a3+b3+c3 etc... but I also want a2+b3+c2, and a2 +b3 +c4, and a2+b2+c7 etc etc etc. all the way to a20+b20+c20 in all permutations in between. Is there a formula for this?

  26. Is there a way to concatenate cells across multiple rows IF you there is a repeated value in another column? Here's my scenario.

    THIS IS MY RAW DATA SET:

    COLUMN A COLUMN B
    ABC PRODUCT 1
    ABC PRODUCT 2
    ABC PRODUCT 3
    ABC PRODUCT 4
    XYZ PRODUCT 1
    XYZ PRODUCT 2
    XYZ PRODUCT 3

    THIS IS THE RESULT I WANT:

    COLUMN A COLUMN B
    ABC PRODUCT 1; PRODUCT 2; PRODUCT 3; PRODUCT 4
    XYZ PRODUCT 1; PRODUCT 2; PRODUCT 3

    Thank you in advance for your help.

  27. can you help simple formula like number 12345678879093879, to be =12+34+56+78+87+90+93+87+9 (546) and add "+" every 2 number after but later result sum that all number?

    1. Hello!
      You can only convert text to a formula using a VBA macro. You can split these numbers by cells and then find their sum.

  28. Is this how I can replace text in Column B with text in Column A?
    For example, Column A has R210#P and Column B has INSERT:IMG_PREMIUM_R210#K_ARTISTLASTNAME.
    I want to replace the R210#K in Column B with the R210#P in Column A.

    1. Hello!
      If the value R210#P is written in cell B1, then it cannot be changed using an Excel formula. This can only be done with the VBA macro. A cell can contain either a value or a formula. The formula cannot change the value of another cell.

  29. =CONCATENATE(MONTH(Table_Query_form_DMSlink[[#this Row],[ordre Date]]),"/Year(B15)) please explan this

    1. Hello!
      Your task is not completely clear to me. It is very difficult to understand a formula that contains unique references to your workbook worksheets. Hence, I cannot check its work, sorry. Please specify what you were trying to find, what formula you used and what problem or error occurred.

  30. How do I concatenate a name and phone number (different cells)
    Sheet1!I1= Jane Dow
    Sheet1!J1 = (000) 000-0000

    Into one cell to read
    Jane Doe (000) 000-000

  31. i need to know after 5 digit how put -ve sign 921023E550 ( example 92102-3E550 )
    please inform us the formula

    1. Hello!
      If I understand your task correctly, the following formula should work for you:

      =LEFT(F1,5)&"-"&RIGHT(F1,LEN(F1)-5)

      Hope this is what you need.

  32. I am trying to concatenate two separate data sets where all the data in A get's repeated for each cell in B. Is there a way to concatenate this without manually changing the $ for each cell in the concatenate function?
    example:
    Origin Zone Destination Zones
    BTD-TGD 32218
    NOD-BBK 90670
    NOD-BBK-BTD 90749

    The result I am looking for is:
    BTD-TGD_32218
    NOD-BBK_32218
    NOD-BBK-BTD_32218
    BTD-TGD_90670
    NOD-BBK_90670
    NOD-BBK-BTD_90670
    And so on. Currently the only way I know to do this is =CONCATENATE(A1,"_"b$2) and then change to (...b$3) when all of the data for b2 has been completed.

    1. Hello!
      We have a tool that can solve your task in a couple of clicks: Ablebits Tools- Create Cards.
      If your data is written in 3 columns -
      aaa bbb ccc
      123 123 123
      456 456 456
      789 789 789
      and set Number of columns to 1 and "Add header"б
      then we get the result -
      aaa 123
      bbb 123
      ccc 123
      aaa 456
      bbb 456
      ccc 456
      aaa 789
      bbb 789
      ccc 789

      This tool is available as a part of our Ultimate Suite for Excel that you can install in a trial mode and use for free: https://www.ablebits.com/files/get.php?addin=xl-suite&f=free-trial
      If you have any (other) questions, don't hesitate to ask.

  33. I am building a list for a team to use that has unique hyperlinks in each row of data. I have attempted to use concatenate to add the active link to a sentence of text. Simply using concatenate, the link does not stay active. Using & the entire text becomes an active link. Is there another operator I should be adding?

    1. Hello!
      I’m sorry but your task is not entirely clear to me. For me to be able to help you better, please describe your task in more detail. Please specify what you were trying to find, what formula you used and what problem or error occurred. Give an example of the source data and the expected result.
      It’ll help me understand it better and find a solution for you. Thank you.

  34. Need help...
    What if i want to concatenate in excel then i also want to add a open expression
    Column A = 2+1
    Column B = Roses
    Column C = Concatenate(A&" "&B)
    Result currently as 2+1 Roses but what i need to know is how can i covert it automatically to 3 Roses

    Thanks in advance

    1. Hello!
      Cell A1 now contains the text "2 + 1". If you change it to the formula = 2 + 1, then you will get the desired result.

  35. a1
    a2 a20
    how we drag a20 by using concatenate pls help

  36. Hi,
    How to auto concatenate a RANGE of Cells before space:

    List 1 List 2 Concated list
    AA MM MM

    CC PP PP QQ
    CC QQ

    DD TT TT MM NN
    DD MM
    DD NN

    thank

  37. Hello Svetlana,
    "Excellent" also can not describe the good work you have done and it's being explained in such a easy manner even a layman will become an expert in Excel.
    Great work keep it up.
    God bless you.

    Cheers,
    Yogesh

  38. HI I am trying to work out the following formatting and was hoping you could help.
    If I have a range of 90% to 100% in a cell K5 in the next cell K6 I would like it to say excellent
    but if in that cell I have a range of 80% to 89% I would like it to say very good.
    basically its a if this then that... but not with colors with specific text.

  39. Hello Alexander,
    I have a number of cells to concatenate in order to generate an unique identifier for each line item.
    The cells contain, for example - A2: 200729, B2: SNK, C2: 34543
    My formula reads: =concatenate(right(A2,3),"-",B2,"-",left(C2,2)) producing 729-SNK-34
    In cell A2, I would like to use the second digit "0" at the beginning of the unique identifier, so need to skip the first digit in cell A2 and use the second, while the rest of the formula stays the same....so the result should then read 0729-SNK-34. Is that possible please...and thank you!

    1. Hello!
      If I understand your task correctly, the following formula should work for you:

      =CONCATENATE(REPLACE(A2,1,2,""),"-",B2,"-",LEFT(C2,2))

      I hope this will help

  40. Is there a way to exclude two specific characters whenever they appear in the cells that you are combining? Either using CONCATENATE or any other function. For example:
    A2 thru A5 all have the same data: AA .
    B2 thru B5 have: T-14 T-14+ T-14= T-14++= in which the hyphen, plus sign, and equals sign are not actually mathematical, but rather are part of the "model number" (no idea why). That is, they are just textual, not math.
    C2 thru C5 have the data: 22 33 44 55.
    I need to place the letter X then Cell A then Cell B then Cell C together, eliminating any plus signs or equals (remember, they are not mathematical). The hyphens can stay.

    I tried this: =("X"&A5&(SUBSTITUTE(B5,"+",""))&C5)
    It of course doesn't eliminate the "=" symbol. I get the result I want for Rows 2 and 3, for example XAAT-1422, XAAT-1433. And not the result that I want for Rows 4 and 5, which return these results: XAAT-14=44, XAAT-14=55.

    And vice versa if I use =("X"&A5&(SUBSTITUTE(B5,"=",""))&C5)
    I get my desired result for Rows 2 and 4 (XAAT-1422, XAAT-1444) but not for rows 3 and 5, which return XAAT-14+33 and XAAT-14++55.

    So I want to be able to eliminate all + symbols and = symbols. I know this scenario is odd to use these symbols, and not mathematically, but the manufacturer uses them in model naming. Thank you for any help! I had started with a concatenate function but couldn't get it to work for me either.

    1. Hello Jillian!
      If I understand your task correctly, the following formula should work for you:

      ="X"&A2&SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(B2,"=",""),"+","")&C2

      or

      =CONCATENATE("X",A3,SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(B3,"=",""),"+",""),C3)

      I hope it’ll be helpful.

    2. Clarification as the spacing above makes it hard to read what I intended:
      B2 thru B5 have:
      T-14
      T-14+
      T-14=
      T-14++=
      in which the hyphen, plus sign, and equals sign are not actually mathematical, but rather are part of the "model number" ..

  41. Hello!
    I have a sales record covering 3 years and i want to report on the highest sales made per year. Can i nest the (=Max) function into a (=Concat) one?
    So that it reads "Gross sales for 2018 were highest at $35000"

    1. Hello!
      Of course you can use something like this

      =CONCAT("Gross sales for 2018 were highest at $",MAX(C1:C18))

      Function arguments can be text, numbers, cell references, other Excel functions

  42. How to insert a character in the middle of string/number?
    eg: 12345 -> 123-45

    1. Hello!
      If I understand your task correctly, the following formula should work for you:

      =CONCATENATE(LEFT(B12,ROUND(LEN(B12)/2,0)),"-", RIGHT(B12,LEN(B12)-ROUND(LEN(B12)/2,0)))

      Hope this is what you need.

  43. I would like to create a password generator, using a list of words. Then be able to grab 4 random words.
    I can create a number with RANDBETWEEN, but how do I convert that to a cell to CONCATENATE?

    1. Hello Tom!
      If RANDBETWEEN selects numbers, for example, from 1 to 10, then each number can correspond to a word using the CHOOSE function. If you describe in more detail your task, initial data and the desired result, I can give more detailed advice.

    2. I think I solved my own question, this may not be the most elegant, but it worked.

      I have a list of words, numbers, and symbols in column I. 1 to 8000
      I want 4 random words combined together from the list of 8000
      Created four cells with =RANDBETWEEN(1,8000) let us assume the 4 cells created are L1, M1,N1, and O1
      in cell P1 I have =CONCATENATE("I",L1)
      in cell Q1 I have =CONCATENATE("I",M1)
      in cell R1 I have =CONCATENATE("I",N1)
      and in cell S1 I have =CONCATENATE("I",O1)

      Then in T1 I have
      =CONCATENATE((INDIRECT(P1)),"-",(INDIRECT(P1)),"-",(INDIRECT(Q1),"-",(INDIRECT(S1)))

      This returns word-made-up-password (of course the words in those cell in column I are different.
      Is there a better way?

      1. Correction:
        =CONCATENATE((INDIRECT(P1)),"-",(INDIRECT(Q1)),"-",(INDIRECT(R1),"-",(INDIRECT(S1)))

  44. I want to concatenate on my userform says: (Balance: and 10,000)Note 10,000 is a value on a textbox which can be different by selecting another information.

    1. Hello!
      I hope you have studied the recommendations in the above tutorial. If I got you right, the formula below will help you with your task:

      =CONCATENATE("Balance: ",A1)

      I hope this will help

  45. I am trying to get the cell to read:
    Assessed: 18%

    Current Formula
    ="Assessed: "&('C&BE'!E29/'C&BE'!E24)
    I want the text 'Assessed: ' and then I want to have the number 18% which comes from a different tab where 2 items are divided. This is what I get 'Assessed: 0.181818181818182' All I want to do is get this number to be a percentage but I can't seem to convert it to percentage. Using the 'Number Format' or 'Display Percentage' items don't convert it. Format Cell doesn't work. It's almost like the '&' function seems to negate these properties. [I have Mac 2011 version 14.7.7 (170905)

    1. I'm looking for the exact same function. Have you found a solution?

      1. Hello!
        The formula below will do the trick for you:

        =E24&" "&TEXT(E29,"###%")

        or

        =CONCATENATE(E24," ",TEXT(E29,"###%"))

        Hope this is what you need.

  46. Hello..
    In excel all the data is in Cell A1 coloumn and rows 1,2,3 so on. So i want to combine the name in Cell B1 coloumn.. So i am combine two rows using this formula =A1&A2 but i am facing problm that all the name are not belong in 2 rows they are separate in 3 rows or 4 rows.
    Example -
    Buff Milano
    Dk. Cog
    Buff Milano
    Red
    Buff Milano
    Grade B
    Black
    Buff Milano
    Grade B
    Black
    In this way i have a huge coloumn can any one solve my problem.. Is there any formula
    Note :
    I wan to find out this in Coloumn B -
    Buff Milano Dk. Cog
    Buff Milano Red
    Buff Milano Grade B Black

  47. Is there a way to concatenate an array (obtained as a result of a formula in a cell)?

    1. Hello!
      The CONCATENATE function and the & operator cannot combine a range of cells. Therefore, it is impossible to write a formula. You can use VBA or our ready-made solution.
      I'd recommend you to have a look at our Ablebits Data - Merge Cells.
      This tool is available as a part of our Ultimate Suite for Excel that you can install in a trial mode and use for 30 days for free: https://www.ablebits.com/files/get.php?addin=xl-suite&f=free-trial

  48. I want to know how to store alternate values in one cell. I am doing some soccer related collation using microsoft excel. For instance cell A1 is barcelona and cell B1 is juventus. I want cell C1 to represent barcelona OR juventus, I don't want cell C1 to represent barcelona AND juventus

  49. Before reading this article I concatenated cells by using the method of = and the cells I wanted, separated by spaces for the most part. This is my formula:
    = ( "Requisition" & " " & A39 &" : " & B39 & "- "& C39 & " - " & D39 & " " & E39)
    One of my cells was in currency (it was Cell E39). How can I make the information (the currency) hold its format when transferred to the next cell?
    F39 holds all the information input from A39 to E39. But when the information in E39 is transferred to F39, instead of seeing $210,000.00 I see 210000.

  50. Hi Is there any way to concat General non-text fields and output the result as a numeric? eg:
    Order Version Output as a number
    1234 1 12341
    1234 2 12342

    Thanks

    1. Hello Gary!
      If I understand your task correctly, please try the following formula:

      =VALUE(A1&B1)

      I hope this will help, otherwise please do not hesitate to contact me anytime.

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