text: ##############################################################################
  #
  # A simple example of merging cells with the XlsxWriter Python module.
  #
  # Copyright 2013-2016, John McNamara, jmcnamara@cpan.org
  #
  import xlsxwriter
  
  
  # Create an new Excel file and add a worksheet.
  workbook = xlsxwriter.Workbook('merge1.xlsx')
  worksheet = workbook.add_worksheet()
  
  # Increase the cell size of the merged cells to highlight the formatting.
  worksheet.set_column('B:D', 12)
  worksheet.set_row(3, 30)
  worksheet.set_row(6, 30)
  worksheet.set_row(7, 30)
  
  
  # Create a format to use in the merged range.
  merge_format = workbook.add_format({
      'bold': 1,
      'border': 1,
      'align': 'center',
      'valign': 'vcenter',
      'fg_color': 'yellow'})
  
  
  # Merge 3 cells.
  worksheet.merge_range('B4:D4', 'Merged Range', merge_format)
  
  # Merge 3 cells over two rows.
  worksheet.merge_range('B7:D8', 'Merged Range', merge_format)
  
  
  workbook.close()
  