What’s so wrong with merging cells? I’m glad you asked. Merging cells might seem like a great way to clean up your spreadsheet, but in reality, they cause a lot of underlying problems (that aren’t worth the cleaner look, IMHO).
Merging cells means you can’t:
- sort data if it contains merged cells.
- copy and paste data without encountering an error.
- select an individual column that contains a merged cell without selecting all the columns within the merged cell. (This may seem insignificant, but it can cause problems when referencing individual columns in formulas.)
- drag cell contents down a column with a merged cell.
- create pivot tables.
- work with VBA all that well.
If you still feel a strong urge to merge your cells, I have a better alternative for you: Center Across Selection. It has the same aesthetic appeal, but it doesn’t cause *any* of the problems mentioned above.
To apply Center Across Selection formatting, select the cells you’d want to merge (and make sure the text is in the active cell), then open the Format Cells dialog box. You can do this by clicking the dialog box launcher in the bottom right corner of the alignment group or by pressing CTRL+1. Next, select Center Across Selection under the horizontal group and hit OK. There! Now your cells will appear merged without losing functionality. You’re welcome.
