Merge table columns in Word 2003 or Word 2010

Question

How can I merge two table columns in Word 2003 or Word 2010?

Answer 1

Do you mean merge 2 (or more) table cells into one table cell, or merge the contents of 2 (or more) cells into a 3rd cell (aka concatenation)?

If its the 1st option then simply select both (or more) cells together, right click and select Merge. This will result in the contents of the 2 (or more) cells being in 1 cell with a paragraph break in between each original cells content.

If its the 2nd option then I don't think this is directly possible using Word table formulas - AFAIK you can only do numerical calculations.

You can write a macro which loops through all the rows in the table and takes the contents of columns 1 and 2, concatenates them and enters the result in column 3. This article may be a point to start from.

As an alternative, I would suggest copy/pasting the table into Excel, using Excel's CONCATENATE function and then copy/pasting back into Word.

Answer 2

In Word 2010, select the cells you want, right click and hit Merge Cells.