separate text in a cell in excel for mac

Use the SEARCH function to find the value for num_chars:

The formula returns five characters in cell A2, starting from the left. The first name starts with the first character in the string (J) and ends at the fifth character (the space). Hint Before you paste the data into the worksheet, set the column widths of columns A and B to 250. The formula you see on the left will be displayed for reference, while Excel will automatically convert the formula on the right into the appropriate result. A single space separates the two names.Ĭopy the cells in the table and paste into an Excel worksheet at cell A1. This example separates two components: first name and last name. You can also split text into different columns with the Convert Text to Columns Wizard This article shows you how to extract various components from a variety of name formats using these handy functions. Some names in your list may contain a middle name, in which case, the last name begins after the second instance of a space. The positions of the spaces within the text string are also important because they indicate the beginning or end of name components in a string.įor example, in a cell that contains only a first and last name, the last name begins after the first instance of a space. The key to distributing name components with text functions is the position of each character within a text string. For example, you can distribute the first, middle, and last names from a single cell into three separate columns. You can use the LEFT, MID, RIGHT, SEARCH, and LEN text functions to manipulate strings of text in your data.

Separate text in a cell in excel for mac