Merge rows in Excel file using n8n action

PDF4me Merge Rows groups duplicate rows within one or more worksheets, keeps the first occurrence, and concatenates the remaining column values with a semicolon (duplicates removed automatically). Choose the worksheets to process, define which columns act as keys, and pick the output format. Great for customer order rollups, duplicate cleanup, or summarizing multi-entry logs.

Setup

Add the PDF4me “Merge Rows” node to your n8n workflow and configure the required parameters. For initial setup instructions, see our n8n Integration Guide.

Prerequisites

• PDF4me API credentials
• n8n workflow access

Get Your API Key

Configuration

1. Add the PDF4me node to the workflow
2. Select the "Merge rows in Excel file" action
3. Provide the workbook source, worksheet list, and merge keys

Parameters

Important: Parameters marked with an asterisk (***) are required. Worksheet indexes in this action are 1-based.

Parameter	Type	Description	Example
Input Data Type***	String	Workbook source selector (Binary Data, Base64 String, URL).	Binary Data
Input Binary Field***	Binary	Required when Binary Data is selected.	{{ $binary.data }}
Base64 Document Content***	String	Required when Base64 String is selected.	UEsDBBQAAAA...
Document URL***	String	Required when URL is selected.	https://files.example.com/orders.xlsx
File Name***	String	Logical filename for reference.	orders.xlsx
Worksheet Numbers***	String	Comma-separated worksheet indexes (1-based) to process. Example: 1,3.	1,2
Merge Key Columns	String	Comma-separated column indexes (1-based) used as grouping keys. Empty = compare whole rows (exact duplicates).	1,2
Output Format	String	Target format: XLSX (default), XLS, XLSB, or CSV.	XLSX
Binary Data Output Name***	String	Binary slot that will hold the merged workbook.	document

Output

Output Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Example
fileName	String	Excel document filename with merged rows - The name of the output Excel document file after row merging	excel_merged_rows.xlsx
fileSize	Number	File size in bytes - The size of the Excel document in bytes after row merging	224032
success	Boolean	PDF4me operation status - Boolean flag indicating the success or failure of the row merging process. PDF4me returns true for successful operations and false for any errors	true
originalFileName	String	Original Excel document filename - The name of the input Excel document file	myExcelFile.xlsx
worksheetNumbers	String	Worksheet numbers processed - Comma-separated list of worksheet indexes (1-based) that were processed for row merging	1,2
mergeKeyColumns	String	Merge key columns used - Description of the merge key columns used. Shows "none specified" if whole rows were compared, or the column indexes if specific columns were used	none specified
outputFormat	String	Output file format - The format of the output file. Values: "XLSX", "XLS", "XLSB", "CSV"	XLSX
message	String	Operation message - Descriptive message indicating the result of the row merging operation, including the worksheet numbers processed	Successfully merged rows in Excel file from worksheets 1,2

N8N Action Response

The PDF4me Merge rows in Excel file API returns a response that can be viewed in multiple formats. Choose the view that best fits your needs:

JSON

JSON Response Format

The raw JSON response from the API:

[
  {
    "fileName": "excel_merged_rows.xlsx",
    "fileSize": 224032,
    "success": true,
    "originalFileName": "myExcelFile.xlsx",
    "worksheetNumbers": "1,2",
    "mergeKeyColumns": "none specified",
    "outputFormat": "XLSX",
    "message": "Successfully merged rows in Excel file from worksheets 1,2"
  }
]

Table

Table View

Response data in a structured table format:

Parameter	Value
fileName	excel_merged_rows.xlsx
fileSize	224032
success	true
originalFileName	myExcelFile.xlsx
worksheetNumbers	1,2
mergeKeyColumns	none specified
outputFormat	XLSX
message	Successfully merged rows in Excel file from worksheets 1,2

Schema

Schema View

The data structure and types of the response:

1 item
fileName: T excel_merged_rows.xlsx
fileSize: # 224032
success: ☑ true
originalFileName: T myExcelFile.xlsx
worksheetNumbers: T 1,2
mergeKeyColumns: T none specified
outputFormat: T XLSX
message: T Successfully merged rows in Excel file from worksheets 1,2

Type Indicators:

• T = String (Text)
• # = Number
• ☑ = Boolean
• [] = Array

Binary

Binary Data View

The actual Excel document file data and metadata:

data
─────────────────────────────
File Name: excel_merged_rows.xlsx
File Extension: xlsx
Mime Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
File Size: 224.0 kB

Binary Data Access:

• n8n Binary Object: $binary.data.data
• Base64 Content: Available for direct use
• File Operations: Ready for download, email, or storage

Use Cases

• Customer/order consolidation: Combine multiple transactions per customer into single summary rows.
• Duplicate cleanup: Remove exact duplicates from imported lead lists or exports.
• Inventory summaries: Merge entries by SKU/location and keep all quantity notes in one cell.

Get Help

n8n Integration Guiden8n SampleGetting Started