Why "center across selection" rather than "merge" cells? What is.

When is it more appropriate to "center across" selection rather than "merge"
cells? What are the advantages/disadvantages to these two types of cell
alignment? Thanks very much.

Merging cells interferes with selecting a range - to apply formatting, for
instance.

Simple example:
If B3 & C3 are merged and you want to select A1:B4, you end up with A1:C4

I *think* in older versions of Excel it also hindered the column autofit
feature activated by double clicking the border between column headers.

"Michele" wrote:

> When is it more appropriate to "center across" selection rather than "merge"
> cells? What are the advantages/disadvantages to these two types of cell
> alignment? Thanks very much.

Personally, I *never* use merge cells - it interferes with sorts, fills,
data selection, formatting, copy & paste, etc.

Center across selection is useful for extending column headings across
multiple columns.

In article <2B22E2E2-A5FA-40E8-BD35-EF1AEC6FE32B@microsoft.com>,
"Michele" <Michele@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> When is it more appropriate to "center across" selection rather than "merge"
> cells? What are the advantages/disadvantages to these two types of cell
> alignment? Thanks very much.

Duke and JE: Thanks very much and for responding so quickly. I'll practice
using the "center across" until the advantages become clearer in my brain.
BTW, what if I don't want to CENTER items? What if I want to still have a
left or right alignment? How is that overcome? Thanks again.

"Duke Carey" wrote:

> Merging cells interferes with selecting a range - to apply formatting, for
> instance.
>
> Simple example:
> If B3 & C3 are merged and you want to select A1:B4, you end up with A1:C4
>
> I *think* in older versions of Excel it also hindered the column autofit
> feature activated by double clicking the border between column headers.
>
> "Michele" wrote:
>
> > When is it more appropriate to "center across" selection rather than "merge"
> > cells? What are the advantages/disadvantages to these two types of cell
> > alignment? Thanks very much.

You don't need to merge the cells if the text is too long for a single cell.
Simply use the left alignement and allow the text toextend beyond the cell's
right border. If you want it right-aligned then move the text to the
right-most cell and use the right align button/format

BTW, though I didn't state as emphatically as JE, I agree that Merge should
be HARD to do so that it's used rarely, while Center Across selection should
be part of the standard toolbar.


"Michele" wrote:

> Duke and JE: Thanks very much and for responding so quickly. I'll practice
> using the "center across" until the advantages become clearer in my brain.
> BTW, what if I don't want to CENTER items? What if I want to still have a
> left or right alignment? How is that overcome? Thanks again.
>
> "Duke Carey" wrote:
>
> > Merging cells interferes with selecting a range - to apply formatting, for
> > instance.
> >
> > Simple example:
> > If B3 & C3 are merged and you want to select A1:B4, you end up with A1:C4
> >
> > I *think* in older versions of Excel it also hindered the column autofit
> > feature activated by double clicking the border between column headers.
> >
> > "Michele" wrote:
> >
> > > When is it more appropriate to "center across" selection rather than "merge"
> > > cells? What are the advantages/disadvantages to these two types of cell
> > > alignment? Thanks very much.