2.38 FAQ-474 How do I edit and format text in merged cells?

Customize-Text-in-MergedCells

Last Update: 5/11/2018

Worksheets have the option of merging adjacent cells of repeating text, for various regions in the worksheet. Cells can be merged after text is entered (by clicking the Merge Cells button ) or you can opt to dynamically merge cells as text is entered. To merge cells dynamically, click Format : Worksheet or press F4 to open the Worksheet Properties dialog box. Click the Format tab and under Text Control, edit the Apply To and Dynamic Merge lists. Note that each Apply To option is configured separately.

When you merge cells dynamically, the individual cells continue to hold their original content, though the content is hidden. If you double-click into any one of the merged cells, you will see something like this:

If you edit any one of these cells, the remaining merged cells are not automatically updated. To edit a merged cell, you must edit each cell individually. You can use auto fill to expedite this process but the first edit must be in the upper left of the merged region.

To auto fill, make your edit in the upper-left cell then click outside to exit edit mode. Single-click to re-select the cell, then hover over the lower-right corner and when the (+) appears, drag your selection to the right (and down, if needed).

Use the same procedure when formatting text in merged cells.

Beginning with Origin 2018b all merged cells within a selected range, including non-contiguous blocks of merged cells, can be un-merged by clicking the Merge cells button on the Style toolbar.