How to consolidate data in Excel from multiple columns

Inhaltsverzeichnis Show

How to consolidate data in Excel
Why use the data consolidation function?
What if the data sources have different items?
More Excel training

If you merge multiple columns of data in Excel (no matter which Excel version you are using), only the left column of data will be kept, and the data of other columns will be deleted, if you apply the "Merge and Center" command from Home tab on the Alignment group. This tutorial is talking about how to merge or combine different columns of data into one cell or column in Excel.

Merge columns of data into one cell without losing data by Clipboard

To merge multiple columns into only one cell without losing any data in Excel, you can use the Clipboard to solve the problem easily.

1. First of all, enable the Clipboard by clicking the Anchor button at the bottom-right corner of Clipboard group on the Home tab. See screenshot:

2. Select the columns you will merge, and press Ctrl + C keys to copy them.
Note: You can also click Home > Copy to copy them.

Now the columns are copied and listed in the Clipboard at once.

3. Double click into a blank cell where you will place the copied columns, and then click the copied item in the Clipboard. Now the copied items are filled into the active cell as below screenshot shown.

So far, all selected columns are merged and placed into the specified cell as below screenshot shown.

Normally when merging cells with the Merge feature in Excel, it will remove all cell contents except the first cell content. However, with Kutools for Excel's Combine (Rows & Columns)utility, you can easily batch combine multiple cells/rows/columns without losing data. What's more, this utility also supports remaining original date format and number formats in the combination results. Full Feature Free Trial 30-day!

Kutools for Excel - Includes more than 300 handy tools for Excel. Full feature free trial 30-day, no credit card required! Get It Now

Merge columns of data into one column with formula

If you need to merge multiple columns of data into one column without any data losing, you can apply formulas to deal with it in Excel.

Formula 1: =A2&B2&C2&...

In Cell D2, please enter the formula =A2&B2&C2, and then drag the AutoFill handle down to apply the formula to other cells in the active column.

And the columns of data have been merged into one column. See screenshot:

Formula 2: =A2&" "&B2&" "&C2&...

In Cell D2, please enter the formula =A2&" "&B2&" "&C2, and then drag the AutoFill handle down to apply the formula to other cells in the active column.

Notes: (1) In both formulas, A2, B2, and C2 are cells in the first row you will merge into one, and you can change them as you need.

(2) To remove formulas from the merging results, you can copy the merging results firstly, right click the range of merging results, and select Paste > Values in the context menu as below screenshot shown, or Apply Kutools > To Actual to remove formulas but keep the merging results with only one click. Read more...

(3) Both formula will clear the number formatting in the merging results. For example, the date “2/15/2019” will be merged as “43511”, the percentage “5.79%” will be merged as “0.0579” etc.

Merge columns of data into one without losing data by CONCATENATE

If there are multiple cells in each row, it will be quite tedious to apply the formula of =A1&" "&B1&" "&C1. Here, I will introduce the CONCATENATE function to deal with this problem.

1. Select a blank cell, enter the formula =CONCATENATE(A2:C2&","), and then highlight A2:C2&”,” in the formula. (Note: In the formula, A2:C2 is the range in the first row I will merge, and “,” means separate each cell content by a comma. )

2. Press F9 key to convert the highlight part of the formula to values.

3. Now the highlight part of the formula is replaced with the cell content automatically. Please remove the curly brackets { and }.

4. Press the Enter key to get the merging result.

Note: This formula will clear the number formatting in the merging results. For example, the date “2/15/2019” will be merged as “43511”, the percentage “5.79%” will be merged as “0.0579” etc.

Quickly merge columns of data without losing data with Kutools for Excel

You can use the third party add-in Kutools for Excel to quickly merge multiple columns.

Kutools for Excel - Includes more than 300 handy tools for Excel. Full feature free trial 30-day, no credit card required! Get It Now

1. After installing Kutools for Excel, please select the columns of data that you want to merge, and then click Kutools > Combine. See screenshot:

2. In the Combine Columns or Rows dialog box, specify the options as follows:
(1) Select Combine columns under To combine selected cells according to following options;
(2) Specify a separator for the combined data, here I select the Space option; (3) Specify the cell you want to place your combined result; (4) Specify how you want to deal with the combined cells. You can keep or delete contents from those combined cells, and you can also merge those combined cells. See screenshot:

3. Then click Ok to combine multiple columns into one column without losing data. You will get the following results:

The Combine (Columns or Rows) feature of Kutools for Excel supports more combination scenarios in Excel. Have a Free Trial!

Demo: Combine Multiple Columns without Losing Data in Excel

Kutools for Excel includes more than 300 handy tools for Excel, free to try without limitation in 30 days. Download and Free Trial Now!

The consolidate function in ExcelExcel DefinitionExcel definition: software program by Microsoft that uses spreadsheets to organize numbers and data with formulas and functions. Excel analysis is ubiquitous around the world and used by businesses of all sizes to perform financial analysis. allows an analyst to combine information from multiple workbooks into one place. The Excel consolidate function lets you select data from its various locations and creates a table to summarize the information for you.

Before you go on to learn more about Excel consolidation, you may find our Excel Shortcuts Cheat Sheet helpful.

How to consolidate data in Excel

We’ve created a step-by-step guide to help you create your own consolidation by combining similarly organized data across multiple worksheets and workbooks.

The screenshots below will help you see an example of how to use the Excel consolidate function:

Step 1: Open all files (workbooks) that contain the data you want to consolidate.

Step 2: Ensure the data is organized in the same way (see example below).

Step 3: On the Data ribbons, select Data Tools and then Consolidate.

Step 4: Select the method of consolidation (in our example, it’s Sum).

Step 5: Select the data, including the labels, and click Add

Step 6: Repeat step 5 for each worksheet or workbook that contains the data you need included

Step 7: Check boxes “top row”, “left column”, and “create links to data source” (note you don’t have to tick these boxes if you don’t want labels or don’t want live links) and click the OK button.

Why use the data consolidation function?

There are many reasons a financial analyst may want to use the Excel consolidate function. One example would be combining budgets from various departments into one company-wide budget. This may be common for an analyst or manager working in financial planning and analysisFP&A AnalystBecome an FP&A Analyst at a corporation. We outline the salary, skills, personality, and training you need for FP&A jobs and a successful finance career. FP&A analysts, managers, and directors are responsible for providing executives with the analysis and information they need (FP&A) or other accounting functions.

What if the data sources have different items?

The Excel consolidate function will still work if there are different labels in the left column. The key is to use labels carefully and ensure they are the same in each table (e.g., if you have a spelling mistake or slightly different version of the label, it will treat them as separate).

More Excel training

Thank you for reading CFI’s guide to the Excel consolidate function. Check out our free Excel crash course to learn more tips, tricks, and best practices in Excel. We’ve also developed a large library of other resources any financial analyst will find useful for their financial modeling skills, including:

Advanced Excel Course
If with And in ExcelIF Statement Between Two NumbersDownload this free template for an IF statement between two numbers in Excel. In this tutorial, we show you step-by-step how to calculate IF with AND statement.
Index Match in ExcelIndex Match FormulaCombining INDEX and MATCH functions is a more powerful lookup formula than VLOOKUP. Learn how to use INDEX MATCH in this Excel tutorial.
Excel formulas listExcel Formulas Cheat SheetCFI's Excel formulas cheat sheet will give you all the most important formulas to perform financial analysis and modeling in Excel spreadsheets. If you want to become a master of Excel financial analysis and an expert on building financial models then you've come to the right place.