by Beth Sunny and Karin Rex

The Merge and Center button on the Formatting toolbar is now a toggle that can apply or remove center alignment and merge the selected cells. Excel retains only the upper-leftmost data in the selected range in the resulting merged cell. If there is data in other cells, the data is deleted.

Additionally, there are three new merge-related commands that can be added to the Formatting toolbar: Merge Cells, Unmerge Cells, and Merge Across.

Merge Cells: Combines two or more selected cells into a single cell. Excel retains only the upper-leftmost data in the selected range into the resulting merged cell. If there is data in other cells, the data is deleted.

Unmerge Cells: Separates a merged cell into the original number of cells

Merge Across: Combines the contents of selected adjacent cells in the same row into a single cell

Adding a Merge Command to the Formatting Toolbar

1. Choose Customize from the Tools menu, and then click the Commands tab.

2. In the Categories list, choose Format.

3. Locate the merge command you wish to add. Click on the Description button to read about the command.

4. Drag the icon from the Commands list to where you want it placed on the Formatting toolbar.

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Beth Sunny and Karin Rex share their extensive knowledge in IT and training as freelance writers for SharperTraining.com. Don't miss their training tips along with insights from other experienced trainers in SharperTraining.com's "Focus On Training" newsletter. To subscribe, visit http://lb.bcentral.com/ex/manage/subscriberprefs.aspx?customerid=1468