Excel: CONCATENATE Function

CONCATENATE

This function in excel join up to 30 values together and returns the result as text. In Excel 2019 and later, the CONCAT and TEXTJOIN functions are better and more flexible alternatives. The CONCATENATE function accepts multiple arguments called text1, text2, text3, etc. up to 255 total. Values may be supplied as cell references, and hard-coded text strings. Only the first argument is required, and values are concatenated in the order they appear.

For example, to concatenate the value of A5 and B5, separated by a space, =CONCATENATE(A5," ",B5). When you concatenate cells in Excel, you combine only the contents of those cells. In other words, concatenation in Excel is the process of joining two or more values together. This method is often used to combine a few pieces of text that reside in different cells (technically, these are called text strings or simply strings) or insert a formula-calculated value in the middle of some text.

One can also use the ampersand character (&) instead of the CONCATENATE function. The ampersand (&) calculation operator lets you join text items without having to use a function. For example, =A3 & B3 returns the same value as =CONCATENATE(A3,B3). The ampersand character (&) is an alternative to CONCATENATE. The result is the same, but the ampersand is more flexible, and creates formulas that are shorter and (arguably) easier to read. The only essential difference between CONCATENATE and "&" operator is the 255 strings imit of the Excel CONCATENATE function and no such limitations when using the ampersand. Some users find CONCATENATE formulas easier to read.