How to use the CONCAT function

What is the CONCAT function?

The CONCAT function concatenates values from multiple cells, cell ranges and arrays.

1. Introduction

What is concatenate?

This means that Excel adds the values in a series forming a text string.

What is an array?

An array in Excel is a collection of values in rows and columns, enclosed in curly brackets {}. The values are separated by a delimiter for rows and another for columns.

For example, this array formula spills the values into individual cells:

={"Car", "Bike";"Train",5}

In Excel 365, arrays automatically spill results into adjacent cells as needed. But in older versions, you must enter it as an array formula (Ctrl + Shift + Enter) to view each value in a cell.

What is a cell range?

A cell range is basically multiple adjacent cells in worksheet. You reference a cell range using the column and row values like this: =A3:B5 so the CONCAT function becomes CONCAT(A3:B5)

What is a delimiter?

It is basically a string that separates the output values, however the CONCAT function lacks this feature. I recommend you use the TEXTJOIN function.

2. Syntax

CONCAT(text1, [text2],…)

text1	Required. Values you want to combine.
[text2]	Optional. Up to 254 additional arguments.

3. Example

This image shows a portion of an Excel spreadsheet. Column B (labeled "Values") contains the following entries:

B3: AA B4: FQ B5: NM B6: 34

Cell D2 contains the text "CONCAT function". The formula bar at the top of the image shows the formula in the currently selected cell (D3).

Formula in cell D3:

and displays the result "AAFQNM34".

The CONCAT function is used to combine text from multiple cells or ranges into one text string. Input values:B3:B6 is the range of cells being concatenated.

The result "AAFQNM34" is displayed in cell D3. This is the concatenation of all the values in the range B3:B6, joined together without any separators.

The CONCAT function simply joins all these values in the order they appear in the range, resulting in the combined string "AAFQNM34".

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4. CONCAT function not working

The CONCAT function returns an error if the source range contains an error.

The #NAME! error is shown if you misspelled the function.

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5. How to add delimiting characters to the CONCAT function

Formula in cell D3:

Use the following formula to remove the last delimiting string:

This Excel formula is used to concatenate a range of cells (B3:B6) into a single string separated by commas, then remove the trailing comma and space at the end.

Here's a breakdown of how it works:

• CONCAT(B3:B6&", "): This part of the formula concatenates the values in cells B3:B6 into a single string, with each value followed by a comma and a space. The & symbol is used to concatenate the values with the comma and space.
• LEN(CONCAT(B3:B6&", ")): This part of the formula calculates the length of the concatenated string.
• LEFT(CONCAT(B3:B6&", "),LEN(CONCAT(B3:B6&", "))-2): This part of the formula uses the LEFT function to extract a substring from the concatenated string, starting from the left. The length of the substring is calculated by subtracting 2 from the total length of the concatenated string. This effectively removes the trailing comma and space.

Explaining formula

Step 1 - Join each cell value in range with a delimiting string

B3:B6&", "

Step 2 - Concatenate array

CONCAT(B3:B6&", ")

6. Comparing related functions

The ampersand character & lets you concatenate values in a formula. Ampersand

• No advanced options.
• Easy to use.

The CONCATENATE function is a simple function that allows you to quickly join values.  CONCATENATE

• Has been replaced by the CONCAT function.
• Although the CONCATENATE function still exists in Excel for backward compatibility, it is a legacy function and may not be supported in future releases.
• You need to select each cell one by one which may become tedious and time consuming.
• Hold SHIFT key while selecting cells to avoid typing delimiting characters between arguments.

The CONCAT function is a simple function that allows you to quickly join values from a cell range. CONCAT

• No delimiting value.
• CONCAT replaces the CONCATENATE function, Microsoft recommends you use this function over the CONCATENATE function from now on.

The TEXTJOIN function is more advanced, it lets you specify a delimiting value and ignore blank values. It takes multiple non adjacent cell ranges. TEXTJOIN

• The TEXTJOIN function is likely the most versatile option for concatenating text across multiple cells and ranges in Excel.
• You can specify delimiting values, however, no distinction between row and column delimiting values which is the case of the ARRAYTOTEXT function.
• You have the option to ignore blank values.

ARRAYTOTEXT function concatenates values from a given cell range or array. ARRAYTOTEXT

• Allows you to specify delimiters for both columns and rows.
• The result is a text string.

Function key F9 lets you convert the formula to the output result.

• Hard code the values in a formula.
• You have the option to select a part of the formula.
• Press Escape key to undo changes.

Here is how:

1. Select the cell containing the formula you want to convert. The formula may be as simple as this: =B2:D5 which is a cell reference to cell range B2:D5.
2. Press with left mouse button on in the formula bar so the prompt appears.
3. Select the entire formula.
4. Press F9 on your keyboard. Excel converts the formula and now shows the output from the formula.
5. Press Esc key to go back to the original formula or press Enter to keep the changes.

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7. CONCAT function and date and time values

This Excel formula is used to concatenate a range of time values in cells B3:B6 into a single string, with each time value formatted as "hh:mm AM/PM".

Formula in cell D6:

Here's a breakdown of how it works:

• TEXT(B3:B6,"hh:mm AM/PM "): This part of the formula formats each time value in cells B3:B6 as a string in the format "hh:mm AM/PM". The TEXT function is used to convert the time values to strings, and the format code "hh:mm AM/PM" specifies the desired format.
  • hh formats the hour as a 12-hour clock (01-12)
  • mm formats the minute as a zero-padded two-digit value (00-59)
  • AM/PM formats the time as either "AM" or "PM" depending on the time of day
• CONCAT(...): This part of the formula concatenates the formatted time strings into a single string.
  For example, if cells B3:B6 contain the time values 08:00, 12:00, 15:30, and 20:45, the formula would return the string "08:00 AM 12:00 PM 03:30 PM 08:45 PM".

Explaining formula in cell D6

Step 1 - Format time values

TEXT(B3:B6,"hh:mm AM/PM ")

Step 2 - Concatenate formatted time values

CONCAT(TEXT(B3:B6,"hh:mm AM/PM "))

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Useful resources

CONCAT function - Microsoft support

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'CONCAT' function examples

Functions in 'Text' category

The CONCAT function function is one of 29 functions in the 'Text' category.

Excel function categories

Excel categories

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