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How to combine text from two cells in Excel and Google Sheets
Topic:Text manipulationExcel & Google Sheets
=A2&B2✓
Verified example
Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.
| First | Last | Combined |
| Alice | Smith | |
| Bob | Jones | |
| Carol | White | |
| Dan | Brown | |
| Eve | Black |
=A2&B2→AliceSmith
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Step by step
- 1In the destination cell, enter =A2&B2 to join the two cells with no separator.
- 2To add a separator like a space, use =A2&" "&B2.
- 3Alternatively, use =CONCAT(A2,B2) or the older =CONCATENATE(A2," ",B2) for the same result.
- 4Copy the formula down to combine all rows.
Tips
- Use TEXTJOIN to combine a range of cells with a delimiter in one step: =TEXTJOIN(" ",TRUE,A2:C2).
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Frequently asked
What is the difference between & and CONCAT?
They produce identical results for text; & is more concise. CONCAT accepts ranges in Excel 365 (e.g. =CONCAT(A2:C2)), while & requires each cell individually.
Can I combine numbers and text?
Yes — Excel and Sheets automatically convert numbers to text when used with &.
More on Text manipulation
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Get the first name from a full name with LEFT and FIND, splitting on the first space. Works in Excel and Google Sheets.
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Pad numbers to a fixed width with leading zeros using TEXT, or a custom number format. Works in Excel and Google Sheets.