The TEXTJOIN function in Excel allows you to combine text from multiple cells while automatically adding separators such as spaces, commas, dashes, or line breaks. Unlike older text functions, TEXTJOIN gives you much more control because it can ignore blank cells and combine large ranges at once.
TEXTJOIN is especially useful for creating full names, mailing addresses, product descriptions, customer lists, and other combined text values without manually adding spaces or punctuation.
In This Guide, You’ll Learn
- What the TEXTJOIN function does in Excel
- The syntax and arguments of TEXTJOIN
- How to combine text with spaces, commas, and other separators
- Beginner-friendly TEXTJOIN examples
- Real-world business uses for TEXTJOIN
- The difference between TEXTJOIN, CONCAT, and CONCATENATE
What is the TEXTJOIN Function?
The TEXTJOIN function combines text from multiple cells into one value while allowing you to specify a delimiter (separator). For example, you can automatically add spaces, commas, or hyphens between words without manually typing &" " repeatedly.
TEXTJOIN is more flexible than CONCATENATE because it can join ranges of cells and optionally ignore blanks.
TEXTJOIN Function Syntax
=TEXTJOIN(delimiter, ignore_empty, text1, [text2], ...)Argument Definitions
- delimiter – The character or text you want between values (such as
" ",", ", or"-"). - ignore_empty – Use
TRUEto ignore blank cells orFALSEto include them. - text1 – The first text value or range to combine.
- [text2] – Additional text values or ranges to combine.
Example Dataset Used in This Tutorial
You can download the sample data we’ll be using in this tutorial by clicking on this link—> TEXTJOIN Function Data
Combine First and Last Names
One of the most common uses of TEXTJOIN is combining names while automatically adding spaces.
Formulas Used
=TEXTJOIN(" ",TRUE,A2,B2)=TEXTJOIN(" ",TRUE,A3,B3)=TEXTJOIN(" ",TRUE,A4,B4)
How This Formula Works
- Excel takes the text in cell A2
- Adds a space (” “)
- Ignores blank cells (TRUE)
- And adds the text in cell B2
Create Comma-Separated Lists
TEXTJOIN works well for combining multiple items into a list separated by commas.
Formulas Used
=TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,A2,B2,C2)=TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,A3,B3,C3)=TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,A4,B4,C4)
How This Formula Works
- Excel takes the text in cell A2
- Adds a comma and a space (“, “)
- Ignores blank cells (TRUE)
- And adds the text in cell B2
- Adds a comma and a space (“, “)
- And adds the text in cell C2
Instead of manually typing commas between every cell reference, as you do in CONCAT or CONCATENATE, TEXTJOIN handles it automatically
Ignore Blank Cells
One major advantage of TEXTJOIN is that it can skip empty cells.
Formulas Used
=TEXTJOIN(" ",TRUE,A2,B2,C2)=TEXTJOIN(" ",TRUE,A3,B3,C3)=TEXTJOIN(" ",TRUE,A4,B4,C4)
How This Formula Works
- Excel takes the text in cell A2
- Adds a space (” “)
- Ignores blank cells (TRUE)
- And adds the text in cell B2
- Adds a comma and a space (“, “)
- And adds the text in cell C2
Without TEXTJOIN, you might end up with extra spaces between names.
Build Email Addresses
TEXTJOIN can combine pieces of text into standardized email formats.
Formulas Used
=TEXTJOIN("",TRUE,A2,B2,C2)=TEXTJOIN("",TRUE,A3,B3,C3)=TEXTJOIN("",TRUE,A4,B4,C4)How This Formula Works
- Excel takes the text in cell A2
- Doesn’t add anything (“”)
- Ignores blank cells (TRUE)
- And adds the text in cell B2
- Doesn’t add anything (“”)
- And adds the text in cell C2
This is useful for HR, sales, and IT teams creating standardized company emails.
Common Mistakes with TEXTJOIN
Forgetting Quotes Around the Delimiter
This will return an error:
=TEXTJOIN(space,TRUE,A2:C2)Correct version:
=TEXTJOIN(" ",TRUE,A2:C2)Using FALSE Instead of TRUE for Blank Cells
Using FALSE includes blanks, which may create extra spaces or separators.
Usually, TRUE is the better option.
TEXTJOIN Not Available in Older Excel Versions
TEXTJOIN is available in:
- Excel 365
- Excel 2021
- Excel 2019
Older Excel versions may require CONCATENATE or &.
TEXTJOIN vs CONCAT vs CONCATENATE
Although all three functions combine text, they work differently.
| Function | Best For | Supports Delimiters | Ignores Blanks |
| TEXTJOIN | Combining text with separators | Yes | Yes |
| CONCAT | Simple text joining | No | No |
| CONCATENATE | Legacy text joining | No | No |
When to Use Each Function
Use TEXTJOIN when you want spaces, commas, or other separators automatically added.
Use CONCAT when you simply want to join text together without separators.
Avoid CONCATENATE for new work since Microsoft considers it a legacy function.
If you are deciding between them, TEXTJOIN is usually the best choice for modern Excel users.
Example Dataset Used in This Tutorial
You can download the sample data we’ll be using in this tutorial by clicking on this link—> TEXTJOIN Function Data
