Text Updated November 2026

TEXTJOIN

TEXTJOIN(delimiter, ignore_empty, text1, [text2], ...) joins text values or a whole range into one string with a separator between them, and with ignore_empty set to TRUE it skips blank cells. =TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, A2:A10) turns a column into a comma-separated list. It needs Excel 2019 or Microsoft 365.

Syntax

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

Part	What it is
`delimiter`	The text to put between items: ", ", " ", "; " or "" for nothing.
`ignore_empty`	TRUE to skip blank cells, FALSE to keep an empty slot (two delimiters in a row).
`text1, text2...`	Cells, ranges or arrays to join, up to 252 arguments.

Examples

=TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, A2:A5)

Result: red, green, blue when A2:A5 holds red, green, (empty), blue

=TEXTJOIN(" ", TRUE, B2, C2, D2)

Result: First, middle and last name with single spaces, even when the middle name is blank

=TEXTJOIN("; ", TRUE, IF(A2:A100 = "North", B2:B100, ""))

Result: The names in B for every North row, separated by semicolons

In Excel 2019 confirm with Ctrl+Shift+Enter; in 365 it works as typed.

=TEXTJOIN(CHAR(10), TRUE, A2:A4)

Result: The three cells on separate lines, when the cell has Wrap Text turned on

Common mistakes

#NAME?: TEXTJOIN does not exist in Excel 2016 or earlier. Use CONCATENATE or & in those versions.
Double delimiters appear: ignore_empty is FALSE or the blanks contain spaces. Set it to TRUE and TRIM the source.
#VALUE!: the result is longer than 32,767 characters, the cell limit.
Numbers lose formatting when joined; wrap them in TEXT first, for example TEXT(B2, "0.00").

Practice TEXTJOIN

These drills check your answer on live data, free, no account needed.

Join the tagsJoin the tags in A2:D2 into one cell, separated by a comma and a space, skipping empty cells. Answer in E2.

Questions

How do I combine a column into one cell separated by commas?

=TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, A2:A100). The TRUE skips empty cells so you get no stray commas.

What is the difference between TEXTJOIN and CONCAT?

CONCAT joins with no separator and cannot skip blanks. TEXTJOIN takes a delimiter and an ignore-empty switch, which is what you want for lists.

How do I TEXTJOIN with a condition?

Put an IF inside: =TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, IF(condition_range = value, return_range, "")). Or use FILTER in Microsoft 365: =TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, FILTER(B2:B100, A2:A100 = "North")).

CONCAT and &How to join text in Excel with CONCAT, CONCATENATE and the & operator, with examples for full names, email addresses, numbered IDs and a formatted date.
FILTERHow the Excel FILTER function returns all the rows of a range that meet a condition, with examples for one criterion, AND and OR, a not found value and SORT.
UNIQUEHow the Excel UNIQUE function returns a list without duplicates that spills down the sheet, with examples for a distinct list, a distinct count and a sort.
TEXTHow the Excel TEXT function turns a number or date into text in a format you choose, with examples for dates, thousand separators, percentages and padding.