About
Combine two lists with an option to add a custom prefix, suffix, and separator. This tool is useful when you want to join or merge two text documents line by line.
Basic Example
Concatenate first names and surnames, with space as a separator.
Column 1
Sarah
Anthony
William
Steven
Column 2
Mitchell
Edwards
Johnson
Davis
Result
Sarah Mitchell
Anthony Edwards
William Johnson
Steven Davis
Exclude Empty Lines
When enabled, the tool will not add the specified prefix, suffix, and/or separator when both lines are empty.
Related Tools
- Split Text - Split a text into individual columns or by a new line.
- Extract Column - Get a specific column from a delimited text.
- Swap Columns - Swap two columns from a delimited text.
Join two text lists by matching their line positions. Combine first and last names, labels and codes, or other paired values.
How to use
Paste the first list in column A and the second in column B. Set a separator and any prefix or suffix, then combine. Check alignment before copying.
Example
Ada in the first list and Lovelace in the second become Ada Lovelace when the separator is one space.
FAQ
What if the lists have different lengths?
The longer list determines the output length. Missing values are empty, so inspect unmatched rows instead of assuming every pair is complete.
A practical task
Before joining names and departments, verify that row three in the first list belongs to row three in the second. Concatenation uses position, not a shared identity key. Sort neither list independently after the pairing has been established.
Another useful question
Can this join records by customer ID?
No. Positional merging does not perform a database join. Match records by a stable identifier in a suitable data tool before combining their display fields.
Details for interpreting the result
| Detail | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Literal separators | A literal separator is an exact sequence of characters, including any spaces. A comma and a comma followed by a space are different separators. Match the source consistently before extracting or exchanging fields. |
| Column headers | Headers provide names for columns; they are not extra data values. Keep their order aligned with each row. When building objects, duplicate header names create ambiguity about which value belongs to a key. |
| Quoted CSV fields | In comma separated CSV, a field containing a comma, quote, or line break needs quotes around it. A quote inside that field is doubled. Splitting every comma by hand loses those field boundaries. |
| Empty and missing data | An empty string, a missing property, and null express different states in structured data. A flat table can merge some of those distinctions. Confirm how missing cells should be handled before converting records. |
