Separating Data into Columns

You might find that some data has been collected in a way that isn’t designed for what you want to do with it. For example, let’s say you have a mailing list in which people’s first and last names are lumped together in one column. What do you do if you want the first name in one column and the last name in a second column? Easy! You just tell Excel to divide this type of information into separate columns.

Separate the Data

  1. Select the data that is to be separated.

  2. On the Data tab, click the Text To Columns button to start the Convert Text To Columns Wizard.

  3. Specify whether the data is currently separated by a character such as a tab, a space, or a comma (Delimited), or whether the data is in text columns of specific widths (Fixed Width).

  4. Click Next, and step through the wizard to specify how you want the data to be separated; whether the data should be formatted as numbers, text, or dates; and where the new column or columns should be placed.

  5. Inspect the result. If it’s not what you want, click the Undo button on the Quick Access toolbar, and use the wizard again, setting different values this time.

    Separate the Data
    Separate the Data

Tip

Tip

If you choose to replace the existing data, make sure there’s a blank column for each new column that you create.

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