Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Merging Table Cells.

Merging Table Cells

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated October 23, 2021)

Word contains a table editor that allows you to create complex tables. One of the features of the table editor is that you can merge adjacent cells together. Merging cells simply means that the adjacent cells are thereafter treated as a single cell, even though they did not start as a single cell. If the cells are on the same row or in the same column you can merge them together by following these steps:

Select two or more adjacent cells, on the same row or same column, that you want to merge.
In the Layout tab of the ribbon (visible when the insertion point is in a table), in the Merge group click on the Merge Cells control. Word joins the selected cells.

You can also easily perform cell merging by using the Eraser tool:

In the Layout tab of the ribbon (visible when the insertion point is in a table) look in the Draw group and click on the Eraser tool. Word changes the mouse pointer into an eraser shape.
Clicking the mouse pointer on a line between cells will delete the line and merge the cells. Clicking and dragging the mouse pointer across lines will also delete them.
Click on the Eraser tool again (on the ribbon) or press the Esc key. This turns off the Eraser tool.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8764) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Merging Table Cells.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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