How To Insert Delete Merge Cells | Google Sheets Tutorial 6, by Google Workspace Tutorial on YouTube. 3 min 15 s.
- Video length
- 3 min 15 s
- Time to do it
- 10 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 7
What you need
Steps
Open your spreadsheet and click the cell where the new cell should appear. This cell marks the spot for the insert.
Open the Insert menu and choose Cells, then pick Shift down to push the cells below down, or Shift right to push the cells to the right.
To remove a cell, select it and open the Edit menu. Choose Delete cells, then Shift up to move the cells below up, or Shift left to move the cells on the right left.
To clear only the contents and keep the cell in place, select it and press Backspace on your keyboard.
To select a block of cells, click the first cell, hold Shift, then click the last cell in the range.
With the range selected, click the Merge cells icon on the toolbar. Pick Merge all to keep only the top-left value, Merge horizontally to keep the left column values, or Merge vertically to keep the upper row values.
To undo a merge, select the merged cell and click the same Merge cells icon, then choose Unmerge.
Tips and common mistakes
Merging keeps only some values, so copy any text you need before you merge.
Use Shift down for inserting rows of data and Shift right when you add a new column in the middle.
Backspace clears content but leaves formatting, so use Delete cells when you want the cell gone.
Questions
What happens to my data when I merge cells?
Only the top-left value is kept with Merge all. The other values are removed, so save or copy them first.
How do I delete a whole row or column instead of one cell?
Right-click the row number or column letter and choose Delete row or Delete column. That removes the entire line at once.
Can I merge cells that are not next to each other?
No. The cells must form one continuous block, otherwise the merge option stays greyed out.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
