There are two commands in the excel 2007 Alignment group - 'merge and centre'
and also 'merge across'. I cannot see the difference in the two commands and
the help file doesn't explain the difference. Can anyone help please?

Thanks
Ingrid

Select a range with multiple rows and columns like A1:C3.

M&C results in one merged cell.

MA results in three.

--
Jim
"Jabu" wrote in message
...
There are two commands in the excel 2007 Alignment group - 'merge and
centre'
and also 'merge across'. I cannot see the difference in the two commands
and
the help file doesn't explain the difference. Can anyone help please?

Thanks
Ingrid

Merge and center merges the entire block of selected cells into one cell.

Select A1:F5 and merge and center and see what you get.

Merge across will merge each row of selected cells into one cell.

Select A1:F5 and merge across and see what occurs.


BUT............I would suggest you don't bother learning the difference between
the two functions.

Better to ignore any type of cell merging and never use it.

Merged cells was the dumbest feature ever come up with.

Creates no end of problems with copying, pasting, sorting, filtering,
autofitting and a host of other functions.


Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP

On Sat, 13 Oct 2007 06:55:04 -0700, Jabu wrote:

There are two commands in the excel 2007 Alignment group - 'merge and centre'
and also 'merge across'. I cannot see the difference in the two commands and
the help file doesn't explain the difference. Can anyone help please?

Thanks
Ingrid

Thanks, Jim and Gord. Just a curiosity and a new feature I noticed.

"Gord Dibben" wrote:

Merge and center merges the entire block of selected cells into one cell.

Select A1:F5 and merge and center and see what you get.

Merge across will merge each row of selected cells into one cell.

Select A1:F5 and merge across and see what occurs.


BUT............I would suggest you don't bother learning the difference between
the two functions.

Better to ignore any type of cell merging and never use it.

Merged cells was the dumbest feature ever come up with.

Creates no end of problems with copying, pasting, sorting, filtering,
autofitting and a host of other functions.


Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP

On Sat, 13 Oct 2007 06:55:04 -0700, Jabu wrote:

There are two commands in the excel 2007 Alignment group - 'merge and centre'
and also 'merge across'. I cannot see the difference in the two commands and
the help file doesn't explain the difference. Can anyone help please?

Thanks
Ingrid

Hi Ingrid,

I'd be happy to help you understand the difference between "merge and center" and "merge across" in Excel 2007.

"Merge and center" is a command that combines multiple cells into one cell and centers the text horizontally within the new merged cell. This is useful when you want to create a title or heading for a table, for example. Here's how to use it:

1. Select the cells you want to merge.
2. Click the "Merge and Center" button in the Alignment group on the Home tab.
3. The selected cells will now be merged into one cell and the text will be centered horizontally within the new merged cell.

"Merge across" is a similar command, but it only merges the selected cells horizontally, without centering the text. This is useful when you want to merge cells in a row without affecting the alignment of the text. Here's how to use it:

1. Select the cells you want to merge.
2. Click the "Merge Across" button in the Alignment group on the Home tab.
3. The selected cells will now be merged horizontally into one cell, but the text will retain its original alignment.

I hope this helps you understand the difference between these two commands. Let me know if you have any other questions!