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TEXTJOIN in SoftMaker PlanMaker: Combine Cells with Delimiters

Text Intermediate SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026

Use PlanMaker TEXTJOIN to combine values with a chosen delimiter and control whether empty cells count, with verified manual syntax and examples.

Verification status: Official documentation referenced; example outcomes independently reasoned or arithmetically checked where stated. Not executed in SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026. How formula examples are checked

TEXTJOIN in SoftMaker PlanMaker: join cells with a separator

Quick answer: Use TEXTJOIN when you want to combine text and automatically insert a chosen separator, such as a comma, space, hyphen or slash. A second argument decides whether to skip empty source cells, which is especially useful when some address fields or category labels are optional. Official PlanMaker 2026 reference.

Exact official syntax and argument definitions

=TEXTJOIN(Separator, IgnoreEmptyCells, String1 [, String2 ...])
Argument Meaning Recommended input
Separator Text placed between joined source values. " / ", ",", "-" or "".
IgnoreEmptyCells TRUE skips empty entries; FALSE includes empty entries when building the separated string. Set explicitly to TRUE or FALSE.
String1 Text fragment or a range of cells to join. A2:D2.
String2, etc. Further text or range arguments. Optional.

The 2021, 2024 and 2026 SoftMaker references agree on the displayed syntax and describe Separator as empty when omitted and IgnoreEmptyCells as TRUE when omitted. Important documentation nuance: the printed syntax positions these arguments as required even though the description mentions omission. To avoid ambiguous omitted positional arguments, the examples in this guide always supply both values explicitly. Native omission behavior was not tested. Square brackets in the manual indicate optional further string arguments, not literal characters to type. 2026 syntax and stated defaults.

English-language examples use commas between function arguments. An installed locale may use another formula separator; check your formula editor instead of mechanically changing delimiters inside quotation marks. No locale-specific app test is claimed.

Worked example: build a location label with a missing field

Create these cells. Leave B2 genuinely empty, not a space or an invisible character:

Cell Stored value
A2 North
B2 (blank)
C2 Dock
D2 07 (text, retains the leading zero)

  1. Select F2 and enter:

    =TEXTJOIN(" / ",TRUE,A2:D2)

  2. Expected output: North / Dock / 07. TRUE skips B2, so exactly two separators appear.

  3. Enter this in F3 for comparison:

    =TEXTJOIN(" / ",FALSE,A2:D2)

  4. Expected output: North / / Dock / 07. FALSE leaves a blank field between separators. The two consecutive separators bracket the empty B2 contribution.

Why it works: TEXTJOIN receives a full range and inserts the quoted " / " between the participating inputs; it does not add a delimiter before the first or after the last input. The handling of an empty range cell follows the official ignore-empty description. These are string calculations from the printed data, not output observed in PlanMaker.

Advanced example: reusable batch tracking codes

Enter these text values in B5:B9, leaving B7 blank:

Cell Value
B5 WMS
B6 ON
B7 (blank)
B8 091
B9 A

Use =TEXTJOIN("-",TRUE,B5:B9) to make a compact identifier. Expected: WMS-ON-091-A. The missing entry causes no doubled hyphen. Switch to FALSE to retain an empty field: expected WMS-ON--091-A.

For a comma-separated export, =TEXTJOIN(",",TRUE,A2:D2) on the first example should yield North,Dock,07. This is useful when creating a display label, but a joined string is not a substitute for separate structured address fields in a database.

Common problems and troubleshooting

Symptom Explanation Next check
Double separators IgnoreEmptyCells is FALSE, or a source cell contains a nonempty whitespace string. Confirm the TRUE/FALSE argument and inspect source cells.
Leading zero disappears 07 or 091 was stored as a numeric value rather than text. Enter code components as text before joining.
Literal word TRUE appears TRUE was put in quotation marks as text or in the wrong argument position. Supply the boolean TRUE without quotes as the second argument.
Unexpected space Separator text itself includes spaces, or a source cell has trailing whitespace. Count spaces inside quotes and inspect source text.
Formula rejected Missing one of the required displayed arguments, mismatched parentheses or locale separator. Start with the fully specified three-argument form and use the formula editor.
Need to preserve original rows TEXTJOIN returns a combined value; it is not a permanent data-cleaning step. Keep original columns; use a result cell for the formula.

Limitations: The function returns a text result and follows cell contents. Be cautious when joining dates, currency, externally imported numbers or cells that merely display padded zeroes. This guide does not assert the exact text conversion of every date or locale format without native testing. An apparent blank containing a space is not an empty cell.

PlanMaker releases, other platforms and Excel compatibility

PlanMaker 2021, 2024 and 2026 help pages each list TEXTJOIN with the same shown argument order and empty-cell descriptions. The URLs verify those documented releases; they do not establish the first PlanMaker release to support it, full edition feature parity or all operating-system behaviors. Windows, macOS and Linux desktop availability was not tested here.

The PlanMaker help notes that Microsoft Excel added TEXTJOIN in Excel 2019; older Excel releases do not support it. This is an Excel version restriction, not a PlanMaker version restriction. If sharing a workbook with older Excel, consider joining specific cells with the more established CONCATENATE or & operator, while explicitly handling delimiters and missing fields. Other spreadsheet programs may have similarly named functions but should be checked for argument separators, empty-cell interpretation and exports. Use CONCAT if you want to join a whole range without separators.

Official reference and verification

Verification status: Official documentation checked; example outcomes were independently reasoned or arithmetically checked where applicable. Not executed in SoftMaker PlanMaker.

  • No genuine SoftMaker PlanMaker screenshots are included; this guide does not use mock application images.