How to use the CONCATENATE function

What is the CONCATENATE function?

The CONCATENATE function lets you add text strings into one single text string.

1. Introduction

Section 5 below discusses the differences between the CONCATENATE, the ampersand character, and the ARRAYTOTEXT functions.

What is the difference between the CONCATENATE function and the TEXTJOIN function?

TEXTJOIN is more flexible than CONCATENATE as it allows you to control the delimiter and handle empty cells, while CONCATENATE is better suited for simple text concatenation without those advanced options.

The CONCATENATE and TEXTJOIN functions both allow you to combine multiple text values into a single result, but the two major differences is

• you need to specify each cell value in the CONCATENATE function which is tedious and time consuming. The TEXTJOIN function lets you specify a cell range which is a much better way to include many cells if needed.
• TEXTJOIN is only available in Excel 2019 and later versions. The CONCATENATE function is a legacy function that may be removed in future Excel updates.

What is the difference between the CONCATENATE function and the CONCAT function?

The CONCATENATE function and the CONCAT function in Excel are used to combine text strings, but the main difference between them is the syntax and the version of Excel that supports them.

• The CONCATENATE function is an older legacy function that has been available in Excel for a long time. It requires you to separate the text strings to be combined with commas, like this: CONCATENATE(text1, text2, ...) which may be time consuming if you have many cells to concatenate.
• The CONCAT function on the other hand is a newer function that was introduced in Excel 2019. It allows you to combine text strings using a comma separator or a cell reference to a cell range which is a huge improvement compared to the CONCATENATE function.

In terms of functionality both functions produce the same result which is to combine the text strings into a single string. However, the CONCAT function is more flexible and easier to use, especially when working with ranges of cells.

2. Syntax

CONCATENATE(text1, [text2])

text1	Required. The argument can be a text value, number, or cell reference.
[text2]	Optional. You can have up to 255 additional text strings to join.

The new TEXTJOIN function is a lot more versatile and easier to use, however, it is only available in Excel 2019 and later Excel versions.

There is a workaround available for earlier Excel versions:

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3. Example

The image above shows values in cells B3:B6 which are "Dog", "Cat", "Squirrel", and "Hedgehog". The formula in cell D3 demonstrates how to concatenate values using the CONCATENATE function.

Formula in cell D3:

The formula in cell D3 returns "DogCatSquirrelHedgehog", note that you can't use a delimiting value.

You cannot use a cell range as an argument, only cell references to single cells are allowed. Press and hold the CTRL key to quickly select multiple cells while entering arguments in the CONCATENATE function.

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4. CONCATENATE function not working

The CONCATENATE function requires single cell references in order to work. For example =CONCATENATE(A1, B1) works however, the following will not work:

=CONCATENATE(B2:C7)

The #NAME error is displayed if you misspelled the CONCATENATE function. The CONCATENATE function propagates the error value if the source value is an error value. If a cell contains an error value, such as #N/A, #VALUE!, #REF!, #DIV/0!, #NUM!, #NAME?, or #NULL!, and that cell is used as an argument in a function, the function will typically return the same error value. Cells B4 and D3 demonstrate this behavior.

4.1 Troubleshooting the error value

When you encounter an error value in a cell a warning symbol appears, displayed in the image above. Press with mouse on it to see a pop-up menu that lets you get more information about the error.

1. The first line describes the error if you press with left mouse button on it.
2. The second line opens a pane that explains the error in greater detail.
3. The third line takes you to the "Evaluate Formula" tool, a dialog box appears allowing you to examine the formula in greater detail.
4. This line lets you ignore the error value meaning the warning icon disappears, however, the error is still in the cell.
5. The fifth line lets you edit the formula in the Formula bar.
6. The sixth line opens the Excel settings so you can adjust the Error Checking Options.

Here are a few of the most common Excel errors you may encounter.

#NULL error - This error occurs most often if you by mistake use a space character in a formula where it shouldn't be. Excel interprets a space character as an intersection operator. If the ranges don't intersect an #NULL error is returned. The #NULL! error occurs when a formula attempts to calculate the intersection of two ranges that do not actually intersect. This can happen when the wrong range operator is used in the formula, or when the intersection operator (represented by a space character) is used between two ranges that do not overlap. To fix this error double check that the ranges referenced in the formula that use the intersection operator actually have cells in common.

#SPILL error - The #SPILL! error occurs only in version Excel 365 and is caused by a dynamic array being to large, meaning there are cells below and/or to the right that are not empty. This prevents the dynamic array formula expanding into new empty cells.

#DIV/0 error - This error happens if you try to divide a number by 0 (zero) or a value that equates to zero which is not possible mathematically.

#VALUE error - The #VALUE error occurs when a formula has a value that is of the wrong data type. Such as text where a number is expected or when dates are evaluated as text.

#REF error - The #REF error happens when a cell reference is invalid. This can happen if a cell is deleted that is referenced by a formula.

#NAME error - The #NAME error happens if you misspelled a function or a named range.

#NUM error - The #NUM error shows up when you try to use invalid numeric values in formulas, like square root of a negative number.

#N/A error - The #N/A error happens when a value is not available for a formula or found in a given cell range, for example in the VLOOKUP or MATCH functions.

#GETTING_DATA error - The #GETTING_DATA error shows while external sources are loading, this can indicate a delay in fetching the data or that the external source is unavailable right now.

4.2 The formula returns an unexpected value

To understand why a formula returns an unexpected value we need to examine the calculations steps in detail. Luckily, Excel has a tool that is really handy in these situations. Here is how to troubleshoot a formula:

1. Select the cell containing the formula you want to examine in detail.
2. Go to tab “Formulas” on the ribbon.
3. Press with left mouse button on "Evaluate Formula" button. A dialog box appears.
   The formula appears in a white field inside the dialog box. Underlined expressions are calculations being processed in the next step. The italicized expression is the most recent result. The buttons at the bottom of the dialog box allows you to evaluate the formula in smaller calculations which you control.
4. Press with left mouse button on the "Evaluate" button located at the bottom of the dialog box to process the underlined expression.
5. Repeat pressing the "Evaluate" button until you have seen all calculations step by step. This allows you to examine the formula in greater detail and hopefully find the culprit.
6. Press "Close" button to dismiss the dialog box.

There is also another way to debug formulas using the function key F9. F9 is especially useful if you have a feeling that a specific part of the formula is the issue, this makes it faster than the "Evaluate Formula" tool since you don't need to go through all calculations to find the issue..

1. Enter Edit mode: Double-press with left mouse button on the cell or press F2 to enter Edit mode for the formula.
2. Select part of the formula: Highlight the specific part of the formula you want to evaluate. You can select and evaluate any part of the formula that could work as a standalone formula.
3. Press F9: This will calculate and display the result of just that selected portion.
4. Evaluate step-by-step: You can select and evaluate different parts of the formula to see intermediate results.
5. Check for errors: This allows you to pinpoint which part of a complex formula may be causing an error.

The image above shows cell reference C18 converted to hard-coded value using the F9 key. The CONCATENATE function requires valid input values which is not the case in this example. We have found what is wrong with the formula.

Tips!

• View actual values: Selecting a cell reference and pressing F9 will show the actual values in those cells.
• Exit safely: Press Esc to exit Edit mode without changing the formula. Don't press Enter, as that would replace the formula part with the calculated value.
• Full recalculation: Pressing F9 outside of Edit mode will recalculate all formulas in the workbook.

Remember to be careful not to accidentally overwrite parts of your formula when using F9. Always exit with Esc rather than Enter to preserve the original formula. However, if you make a mistake overwriting the formula it is not the end of the world. You can “undo” the action by pressing keyboard shortcut keys CTRL + z or pressing the “Undo” button

4.3 Other errors

Floating-point arithmetic may give inaccurate results in Excel - Article

Floating-point errors are usually very small, often beyond the 15th decimal place, and in most cases don't affect calculations significantly.

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5. 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 CTRL 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 in a given cell.

• 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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6. Function not working

 

Useful resources

CONCATENATE function - Microsoft support
Using Concatenate In Excel: A Complete Guide

'CONCATENATE' function examples

The following article has a formula that contains the CONCATENATE function.

Functions in 'Text' category

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

Excel function categories

Excel categories

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