How do I remove line breaks in an Excel cell?

Use Find & Replace: Ctrl+H, click Find what and press Ctrl+J (the line-break character), replace with a space, Replace All. Or use =CLEAN(A2) / =SUBSTITUTE(A2, CHAR(10), " "). Tellsheet's Remove Line Breaks does it in one click with a choice of separator — no invisible characters to type.

What is the Ctrl+J trick in Excel?

In the Find & Replace box, Ctrl+J enters a line-break character (CHAR(10)) that you can't see. It's how you search for in-cell line breaks — but it's easy to lose track of whether it's there, which is why a dedicated tool is less error-prone.

Why does one cell span several lines?

It contains a carriage return or line feed, usually from wrapped text, a pasted paragraph, or a CSV that kept its newlines. Those break exports and make cells hard to read. Removing the line breaks flattens each cell to one line.

Home › Excel Guides › Remove Line Breaks in Excel

How to Remove Line Breaks in Excel

A cell that mysteriously spans three lines — or an export that splits one row into several — usually has hidden carriage returns inside it. Here's how to flatten them, including the invisible Ctrl+J trick, and a one-click way.

Last updated: August 2026

Cell (3 lines)		One line
123 Main St⏎Apt 4⏎Springfield	→	123 Main St, Apt 4, Springfield

Method 1 — Find & Replace with Ctrl+J

Select the cells and press Ctrl+H.
Click in Find what and press Ctrl+J — nothing visibly appears; that's the line-break character.
Type a space (or leave blank) in Replace with, then Replace All.

Works, but the invisible Ctrl+J is fiddly — repeat it accidentally and you'll match nothing, and it's easy to leave stragglers behind.

Method 2 — CLEAN or SUBSTITUTE

=CLEAN(A2) removes non-printable characters (including line breaks). To control the replacement, =SUBSTITUTE(A2, CHAR(10), ", ") swaps each break for a comma. Then Paste Special > Values. Note CLEAN doesn't touch non-breaking spaces — a separate gotcha.

The 1-click way — Tellsheet

Remove Line Breaks strips the carriage returns and line feeds inside every selected cell and replaces each with a space, a comma, or nothing — no invisible Ctrl+J, no helper column. It collapses any doubled spaces and trims the ends, previews first, and is revertable. Pairs with Clean and Find Hidden Characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do I remove line breaks in a cell?

Find & Replace with Ctrl+J → space, or =CLEAN(A2), or Tellsheet's Remove Line Breaks in one click.

What is Ctrl+J?

It types the invisible line-break character into the Find box so you can search for in-cell breaks.

Why does a cell span several lines?

It holds a carriage return/line feed from wrapped text, a pasted paragraph, or a CSV — which also breaks exports.

Does CLEAN remove non-breaking spaces?

No — CLEAN only strips control characters. Use Find Hidden Characters to spot non-breaking spaces, then Clean to remove them.

Related Excel guides

Flatten cells in one click

Remove Line Breaks strips in-cell carriage returns — replace with a space, comma, or nothing, right inside Excel.

Get Tellsheet free See pricing