The COMBINE function with example in Excel

It appears there might be a misunderstanding as Excel does not have a built-in function named COMBINE. However, there are several functions that allow combining or concatenating text strings, such as CONCATENATE, & operator, CONCAT, and TEXTJOIN.

Here are examples using these functions:

1. CONCATENATE Function

This function is used to join two or more text strings into one.

Syntax

excel
CONCATENATE(text1, [text2], ...)

Example

To combine "Hello" and "World" with a space in between:

• Formula: =CONCATENATE("Hello", " ", "World")
• Result: Hello World

2. & Operator

The & operator can be used to concatenate text strings.

Example

To achieve the same result as above using the & operator:

• Formula: ="Hello" & " " & "World"
• Result: Hello World

3. CONCAT Function

CONCAT is a newer function (introduced in Excel 2016) that replaces CONCATENATE. It can concatenate a range of strings.

Syntax

excel
CONCAT(text1, [text2], ...)

Example

To combine "Hello" and "World" with a space:

• Formula: =CONCAT("Hello", " ", "World")
• Result: Hello World

4. TEXTJOIN Function

TEXTJOIN allows you to specify a delimiter and ignore empty cells, which can be very useful.

Syntax

excel
TEXTJOIN(delimiter, ignore_empty, text1, [text2], ...)

Example

To combine "Hello" and "World" with a space using TEXTJOIN:

• Formula: =TEXTJOIN(" ", TRUE, "Hello", "World")
• Result: Hello World

Practical Example Using a List of Strings

Suppose you have a list of strings in cells A1 to A3:

• A1: First
• A2: Second
• A3: Third

Using TEXTJOIN to Combine These Strings with a Comma and Space:

• Formula: =TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, A1:A3)
• Result: First, Second, Third

Step-by-Step Example

1. Input Data:

   • In cell A1, enter: Apple
   • In cell A2, enter: Banana
   • In cell A3, enter: Cherry

2. Using CONCATENATE:

   • In cell B1, enter the formula:

     excel
     =CONCATENATE(A1, ", ", A2, ", ", A3)
     

   • Result in B1: Apple, Banana, Cherry

3. Using & Operator:

   • In cell B2, enter the formula:

     excel
     =A1 & ", " & A2 & ", " & A3
     

   • Result in B2: Apple, Banana, Cherry

4. Using CONCAT:

   • In cell B3, enter the formula:

     excel
     =CONCAT(A1, ", ", A2, ", ", A3)
     

   • Result in B3: Apple, Banana, Cherry

5. Using TEXTJOIN:

   • In cell B4, enter the formula:

     excel
     =TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, A1:A3)
     

   • Result in B4: Apple, Banana, Cherry

These examples demonstrate different ways to combine text strings in Excel, which can be adapted based on the specific requirements of your data and version of Excel.