8 replies to this topic

[Abbylovi]

I know there's a way to do this but I can't remember how... I have a first name and last name in one column separated by a comma. What's the method for moving one to another column?

Thank you smarties!

[Lex]

From the top menu -

Data / Text to Columns / select Delimited, press Next / select Comma and press Finish.

[Abbylovi]

Lex you rule.

[Lex]

I live to serve.

[SLBunge]

Lex's plan is very easy. If you have a need to leave the original data alone or you are planning on sucking in another bunch of names in the future to add to the column you could parse the texts with functions. Assume your lastname, firstname data is in column A.

Last Name : Go to the cell B1 and enter =left(A1, find(",", A1)-1). This gives you the text string to the left of the comma. Then copy cell B1 down.

First Name : Go to cell C1 and enter =right(A1, len(A1) - find(" ", A1)). This gives you the text string to the right of the comma. Then copy cell C1 down.

[ghostrider]

Can't you also do this stuff via simple cut / copy & paste? I.e., CTRL + X / C, move cursor to destination cell, CTRL + V?

Or am I missing the real question here?

[Abbylovi]

When you have a large quantity of data to move around (i.e. 1600 names), the Lex method is the way to do it.

[ghostrider]

When you have a large quantity of data to move around (i.e. 1600 names), the Lex method is the way to do it.

Ah, taht makes sense. Good tip from Lex then, one I may well need down the road.

[Lex]

SLB's tip for setting up a permanent function is something I didn't know about but I would have welcomed.