Have you ever wanted to take a column of data and parse it out? For example, you have a column with a list of names, but you want to separate First Name and Last Name into two columns. The Text to Columns feature in Excel allows you to do just that!
To perform this action, highlight the column of data you would like to separate. From the Data tab, select Text to Columns in the Data Tools category.
You have two options here: Delimited and Fixed Width. Delimited will you let you choose how to split the data using an identifier or character. Fixed Width allows you to manually place a marker where you want to split the data. Because all of our names in our example column won’t break in the same spot, we will use Delimited.
Click Next. Place a checkbox next to the option labeled Space. This will separate the data every time it sees a space. Click Finish. You will now see your names separated into column A and column B.
Note: If your column has more spaces, for example, John A. Smith, this function will separate each time it finds space. In this example, your data would be split into three columns.
We love feedback from our customers and implement suggestions often. What shortcut do you use the most? If you have a question or idea for a Microsoft Windows or an Excel tip that you would like to see, let me know, and I might feature it!
Billie Hardison
Director of Education & Training
BHardison@advocatecapital.com
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