The merge and center shortcut in Excel is Alt + H M C. Excel for Mac has no built-in keyboard shortcut for Merge & Center. With Accelerator Keys, select the cells, press Option, then H, M, C — the same keys as on Windows.
Command: Merge & Center
This is how to do Alt + H M C on Mac in Excel with Accelerator Keys, the native ribbon and alt key shortcut solution for Mac users who get more done with Excel.
Alt + H M C is the merge and center shortcut in Excel. It combines the selected cells into one larger cell and centers the content horizontally. This is the fastest way to merge cells in Excel — commonly used for creating titles that span multiple columns, formatting report headers, and organizing data layouts.
On Windows, the merge and center shortcut (Alt + H M C) works natively. On Mac, you need Accelerator Keys to use this Excel merge and center shortcut with the same key sequence.
Without Accelerator Keys, merging cells on Mac Excel requires multiple clicks:
With Accelerator Keys installed, you can skip all of that — just press Option → H → M → C. This is the same shortcut for merge and center that works on Windows, now available on your Mac.
| Shortcut | Command | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Alt + H M C | Merge & Center | Merge cells and center content |
| Alt + H M A | Merge Across | Merge cells across columns only |
| Alt + H M M | Merge Cells | Merge without centering |
| Alt + H M U | Unmerge Cells | Split merged cells back apart |
On Windows, the merge and center shortcut is Alt + H M C (Home > Merge & Center > Merge & Center). Alt + H M A merges across, Alt + H M M merges without centering, and Alt + H M U unmerges.
Not by default. Excel for Mac has no built-in keyboard shortcut for Merge & Center, so you click Home > Merge & Center. Accelerator Keys adds the Windows shortcut: press Option, then H, M, C.
Install Accelerator Keys, select the cells, then press Option, H, M, C to merge and center, or Option, H, M, M to merge without centering.