Purpose

Return value

Syntax

=CONCATENATE(text1,text2,[text3],...)
  • text1 - The first text value to join together.
  • text2 - The second text value to join together.
  • text3 - [optional] The third text value to join together.

Using the CONCATENATE function

The CONCATENATE function concatenates (joins) join up to 30 values together and returns the result as text. In Excel 2019 and later, the CONCAT function and TEXTJOIN function are better, more flexible alternatives.

The CONCATENATE function accepts multiple arguments called text1 , text2 , text3 , etc. up to 30 total. Values may be supplied as cell references, and hard-coded text strings. Only the first argument is required, and values are concatenated in the order they appear. For example, to concatenate the value of A1 and B1, separated by a space, you can use CONCATENATE like this:

=CONCATENATE(A1," ",B1)

The result of this formula is the same as using the concatenation operator (&) manually like this:

=A1&" "&B1 // manual concatenation

The ampersand character (&) is an alternative to CONCATENATE. The result is the same, but the ampersand is more flexible, and creates formulas that are shorter and (arguably) easier to read.

Number formatting

When concatenating numeric values like dates, times, percentages, etc., number formatting will be lost. For example, with the date 1-Jul-2021 in cell A1, the date reverts to a serial number during concatenation:

=CONCATENATE("Date: ",A1) // returns "Date: 44378"

To apply formatting during concatenation use the TEXT function :

=CONCATENATE("The date is ",TEXT(A1,"mmmm d")) // "Date: July 1"

The CONCATENATE function will not handle ranges :

=CONCATENATE(A1:D1) // does not work

To concatenate values in ranges, see the CONCAT function . To concatenate many values with a common delimiter, see the TEXTJOIN function . TEXTJOIN can do everything CONCAT can do, but can also accept a delimiter and optionally ignore empty values.

Notes

  • CONCATENATE can join up to 30 text items together.
  • Text items can be text strings, numbers, or cell references that refer to one cell.
  • Numbers are converted to text when joined. If you need to specify a number format for a number being joined, see the TEXT function .
  • The ampersand character (&) is an alternative to CONCATENATE. The result is the same, but the ampersand is more flexible, and creates formulas that are shorter and (arguably) easier to read.

Purpose

Return value

Syntax

=DOLLAR(number,decimals)
  • number - The number to convert.
  • decimals - The number of digits to the right of the decimal point. Default is 2.

Using the DOLLAR function

The DOLLAR function converts a number to text, formatted as currency. The name of the function and the currency symbol used is based on language settings of the computer.

It’s important to understand that DOLLAR returns text and not a number, so the result cannot be used in a numeric calculation. If the goal is simply to format a number as Currency, applying a standard number format is a better option. Video: How to use number formatting .

The DOLLAR function takes two arguments, number and decimals . Number is the number to format, decimals controls how the number is rounded and specifies the number of digits to the right of the decimal point. Decimals is optional and defaults to 2. For example:

=DOLLAR(169.49) // returns "$169.49"
=DOLLAR(169.49,2) // returns "$169.49"
=DOLLAR(169.49,0) // returns "$169"

One use of the DOLLAR function is to concatenate a formatted number to a text string, since number formatting is lost during concatenation. For example, with the number $99.00 in cell A1, formatted as Currency, the following formula does not show Currency:

="The price is "&A1 // returns "The price is 99"

With the DOLLAR function, formatting can be maintained:

="The price is "&DOLLAR(A1) // returns "The price is $99.00"

DOLLAR vs. TEXT

The DOLLAR function is a specialized function to apply Currency formatting only. The TEXT function is a generalized function that does the same thing. TEXT can convert numeric values to text in any number format, including currency, date, time, percentage, and so on.

Notes

  • The DOLLAR function converts a number to text using currency number format: $#,##0.00_);($#,##0.00).
  • The default for decimals is 2. If decimals is negative, number will be rounded to the left of the decimal point.
  • The name of the function and the currency symbol used is based on language settings of the computer.
  • The TEXT function is a more flexible way to achieve the same result.