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How to merge categories

Sometimes survey data contains multiple categories that represent the same thing — for example, "U.S.," "USA," and "United States." Merging lets you combine these into a single clean category.


Where to find it

You can merge categories in the Legend:

  • In a pivot chart: click the Legend tab on the right.
  • In Manage Column(s): open the column details and scroll to the Legend.

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Legend with multiple categories, ready to merge
Legend with multiple categories, ready to merge


How to merge

In the legend, select the categories you want to merge. You can click categories one at a time, or hold Shift to select a range.

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Selected categories
Selected categories

Click the Merge button and a pop uyp will appear where you can choose the label for your merged category.

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Popup with merge options
Popup with merge options

The selected categories will collapse into one merged category.

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Save your changes
Save your changes

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After saving, your chart will be updated
After saving, your chart will be updated


Viewing mappings

After merging, you can click View Mappings to see how the original raw categories have been mapped to the new merged category.

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Mappings of raw categories into merged category
Mappings of raw categories into merged category


Undoing a merge

To undo a merge, click the "Reset" button. This will return your categories to their orginal state.


Keeping original categories

Merging inside the legend changes the categories for that variable everywhere in the project.
If you want to keep the original categories as well as create a merged version, use a Custom Column. This allows you to define a new variable that merges categories across one or more columns, without altering the original.


Example

A survey column for "Region" includes responses:

  • "U.S."
  • "USA"
  • "United States"

To merge them:

  1. Select all three categories in the legend.
  2. Click Merge.
  3. Rename the result United States.

The legend now shows one clean category, and charts and exports will treat all three raw values as the same.


Key points

  • Merging combines two or more categories into one.
  • Use View Mappings to track how raw values map to merged categories.
  • Use Custom Columns if you want to create a merged version while keeping the originals intact.
  • Changes persist across the project and carry into exports.