Can you split an excel cell

You might want to split a cell into two smaller cells within a single column. Unfortunately, you can’t do this in Excel. Instead, create a new column next to the column that has the cell you want to split and then split the cell. You can also split the contents of a cell into multiple adjacent cells.

See the following screenshots for an example:

Split the content from one cell into two or more cells

1. Select the cell or cells whose contents you want to split.

   Important: When you split the contents, they will overwrite the contents in the next cell to the right, so make sure to have empty space there.

2. On the Data tab, in the Data Tools group, click Text to Columns. The Convert Text to Columns Wizard opens.

   

3. Choose Delimited if it is not already selected, and then click Next.

4. Select the delimiter or delimiters to define the places where you want to split the cell content. The Data preview section shows you what your content would look like. Click Next.

   

5. In the Column data format area, select the data format for the new columns. By default, the columns have the same data format as the original cell. Click Finish.

See Also

Merge and unmerge cells

Merging and splitting cells or data

There can be situations when you have to split cells in Excel. These could be when you get the data from a database or you copy it from the internet or get it from a colleague.

A simple example where you need to split cells in Excel is when you have full names and you want to split these into first name and last name.

Or you get address’ and you want to split the address so that you can analyze the cities or the pin code separately.

How to Split Cells in Excel

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to split cells in Excel using the following techniques:

• Using the Text to Columns feature.
• Using Excel Text Functions.
• Using Flash Fill (available in 2013 and 2016).

Let’s begin!

Split Cells in Excel Using Text to Column

Below I have a list of names of some of my favorite fictional characters and I want to split these names into separate cells.:

Here are the steps to split these names into the first name and the last name:

• Select the cells in which you have the text that you want to split (in this case A2:A7).
• Click on the Data tab
• In the ‘Data Tools’ group, click on ‘Text to Columns’.
• In the Convert Text to Columns Wizard:

This will instantly split the cell’s text into two different columns.

Note:

• Text to Column feature splits the content of the cells based on the delimiter. While this works well if you want to separate the first name and the last name, in the case of first, middle, and last name it will split it into three parts.
• The result you get from using the Text to Column feature is static. This means that if there are any changes in the original data, you’ll have to repeat the process to get updated results.

Split Cells in Excel Using Text Functions

Excel Text functions are great when you want to slice and dice text strings.

While the Text to Column feature gives a static result, the result that you get from using functions is dynamic and would automatically update when you change the original data.

Splitting Names that have a First Name and Last Name

Suppose you have the same data as shown below:

Extracting the First Name

To get the first name from this list, use the following formula:

=LEFT(A2,SEARCH(" ",A2)-1)

This formula would spot the first space character and then return all the text before that space character:

This formula uses the SEARCH function to get the position of the space character. In the case of Bruce Wayne, the space character is in the 6th position. It then extracts all the characters to the left of it by using the LEFT function.

Extracting the Last Name

Similarly, to get the last name, use the following formula:

=RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-SEARCH(" ",A2))

This formula uses the search function to find the position of the spacebar using the SEARCH function. It then subtracts that number from the total length of the name (that is given by the LEN function). This gives the number of characters in the last name.

This last name is then extracted by using the RIGHT function.

Note: These functions may not work well if you have leading, trailing or double spaces in the names. Click here to learn how to remove leading/trailing/double spaces in Excel.

Splitting Names that have a First Name, Middle Name, and Last Name

There may be cases when you get a combination of names where some names have a middle name as well.

The formula in such cases is a bit complex.

Extracting the First Name

To get the first name:

=LEFT(A2,SEARCH(" ",A2)-1)

This is the same formula we used when there was no middle name. It simply looks for the first space character and returns all the characters before the space.

Extracting the Middle Name

To get the Middle Name:

=IFERROR(MID(A2,SEARCH(" ",A2)+1,SEARCH(" ",A2,SEARCH(" ",A2)+1)-SEARCH(" ",A2)),"")

MID function starts from the first space character and extracts the middle name by using the difference of the position of the first and the second space character.

In cases there is no middle name, the MID function returns an error. To avoid the error, it is wrapped within the IFERROR function.

Extracting the Last Name

To get the Last Name, use the below formula:

=IF(LEN(A2)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2," ",""))=1,RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-SEARCH(" ",A2)),RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-SEARCH(" ",A2,SEARCH(" ",A2)+1)))

This formula checks whether there is a middle name or not (by counting the number of space characters). If there is only 1 space character, it simply returns all the text to the right of the space character.

But if there are 2, then it spots the second space character and returns the number of characters after the second space.

Note: These formula works well when you have names that have either the fist name and last name only, or the first, middle, and last name. However, if you have a mix where you have suffixes or salutations, then you’ll have to modify the formulas further.

Split Cells in Excel Using Flash Fill

Flash Fill is a new feature introduced in Excel 2013.

It could be really handy when you have a pattern and you want to quickly extract a part of it.

For example, let’s take the first name and the last name data:

Flash fill works by identifying patterns and replicating it for all the other cells.

Here is how you can extract the first name from the list using Flash Fill:

How Flash Fill Works?

Flash Fill looks for the patterns in the data set and replicates the pattern.

Flash Fill is a surprisingly smart feature and works as expected in most of the cases. But it also fails in some cases too.

For example, if I have a list of names that has a combination of names with some having a middle name and some don’t.

If I extract the middle name in such a case, Flash Fill will erroneously return the last name in case there is no first name.

To be honest, that’s still a good approximation of the trend. However, it is not what I wanted.

But it still is a good enough tool to keep in your arsenal and use whenever the need arises.

Here is another example where Flash Fill works brilliantly.

I have a set of addresses from which I want to quickly extract the city.

To quickly get the city, enter the city name for the first address  (enter London in cell B2 in this example) and use the autofill to fill all the cells. Now use Flash Fill and will instantly give you the name of the city from each address.

Similarly, you can split the address and extract any part of the address.

Note that this would need the address to be a homogenous data set with the same delimiter (comma in this case).

In case you try and use Flash Fill when there is no pattern, it will show you an error as shown below:

In this tutorial, I have covered three different ways to split cells in Excel into multiple columns (using Text to Columns, formulas, and Flash Fill)

Hope you found this Excel tutorial useful.

You May Also Like the Following Excel Tutorials:

• How to Quickly Combine Cells in Excel.
• How to Extract a Substring in Excel Using Formulas.
• How to Count Cells that Contain Text Strings.
• Extract Usernames from Email Ids in Excel [2 Methods].
• How to Split Multiple Lines in a Cell into Separate Cells/Columns.

If you’re working with data in Excel that you’ve imported from other sources, sometimes you have to work with data that isn’t in a format that you want. This is especially true with comma-delimited text that comes into single cells.

The only way to deal with that data is to split a cell in Excel. There are different ways to do this, depending on the format of the data. 

In this article you’ll learn how to split a cell, how to roll that out to an entire column, and when you should choose each option.

Convert Text To Columns

One of the most common methods to split a cell in Excel is using the Text to Columns tool. This lets you split an entire column of cells using whatever rules you like. 

The feature also includes an easy-to-use wizard, which is why most people prefer using it. It also handles any text format, whether the separating text is a space, a tab, or a comma.

Let’s look at an example of how to use the Text to Columns feature in Excel. 

In this example, we want to split the Name column into two cells, the first name and the last name of the salesperson.

To do this:

1. Select the Data menu. Then select Text to Columns in the Data Tools group on the ribbon.

2. This will open a three-step wizard. In the first window, make sure Delimited is selected and select Next. 

3. On the next Wizard window, deselect Tab and make sure Space is selected. Select Next to continue.

4. On the next window, select the Destination field. Then, in the spreadsheet, select the cell where you want the first name to go. This will update the cell in the Destination field to where you’ve selected.

5. Now, select Finish to complete the Wizard.

You’ll see that the single cell that contained both the first name and last name has been split into two cells that contain each one individually. 

Note: The process above works because the data to split in the cell had a space separating the text. This text-to-column feature can also handle splitting a cell in Excel if the text is separated by a tab, semicolon, comma, or any other character you specify.

Use Excel Text Functions

Another way to split a cell in Excel is by using different text functions. Text functions let you extract pieces of a cell that you can output into another cell.

Text functions in Excel include:

• Left(): Extract a number of characters from the left side of the text
• Right(): Extract a number of characters from the right side of the text
• Mid(): Extract a number of characters from the middle of a string
• Find(): Find a substring inside of another string
• Len(): Return the total number of characters in a string of text

To split cells, you may not need to use all of these functions. However, there are multiple ways you can use these to accomplish the same thing.

For example, you can use the Left and Find function to extract the first name. The Find function helps because it can tell you where the delimiting character is. In this case, it’s a space.

So the function would look like this:

=LEFT(C3,FIND(” “,C3))

When you press enter after typing this function, you’ll see that the first name is extracted from the string in cell C3.

This works, because the Left function needs the number of characters to extract. Since the space character is positioned at the end of the first name, you can use the FIND function to find the space, which returns the number of characters you need to get the first name.

You can extract the last name either using either the Right function or the Mid function.

To use the Right function:

=RIGHT(C3,LEN(C3)-FIND(” “,C3))

This will extract the last name by finding the position of the space, then subtracting that from the length of the total string. This gives the Right function the number of characters it needs to extract the last name.

Technically, you could do the same thing as the Right function using the Mid function, like this:

=MID(C3,FIND(” “,C3),LEN(C3)-FIND(” “,C3))

In this case the Find function gives the Mid function the starting point, and the Len combined with Find provides the number of characters to extract. This will also return the last name.

Using Excel text functions to split a cell in Excel works as well as the Text-To-Column solution, but it also lets you fill the entire column beneath those results using the same functions.

Split Cell in Excel Using Flash Fill

The last option to split a cell in Excel is using the Flash Fill feature. This requires that the cells you’re splitting the original one into are right beside it.

If this is the case, all you have to do is type the part of the original cell that you want to split out. Then drag the lower right corner of the cell down to fill the cell beneath it. When you do this, you’ll see a small cell fill icon appear with a small plus sign next to it.

Select this icon and you’ll see a menu pop-up. Select Flash Fill in this menu.

When you do this, you’ll see that the Flash Fill feature automatically detects why you typed what you typed, and will repeat the process in the next cell. It’ll do this by detecting and filling in the first name in the original cell to the left.

You can actually do this same procedure when you fill the entire column. Select the same icon and select Flash Fill. It’ll fill the entire column with the correct first name from the cells to the left.

You can then copy this entire column and paste it into another column, then repeat this same process to extract the last names. Finally, copy and paste that entire column where you want it to go in the spreadsheet. Then delete the original column you used to perform the Flash Fill process.

Splitting Cells in Excel

As you can see there are a few ways to accomplish the same thing. How you split a cell in Excel boils down to where you want the final result to go and what you plan to do with it. Any options works, so choose the one that makes the most sense for your situation and use it.

Last Update: Jan 03, 2023

This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. Now, we have got the complete detailed explanation and answer for everyone, who is interested!

Asked by: Dr. Mustafa Mante

Score: 5/5
(44 votes)

Split cells

In the table, click the cell that you want to split. Click the Layout tab. In the Merge group, click Split Cells. In the Split Cells dialog, select the number of columns and rows that you want and then click OK.

Can you split a cell within a cell in Excel?

Unfortunately, you can’t do this in Excel. Instead, create a new column next to the column that has the cell you want to split and then split the cell. You can also split the contents of a cell into multiple adjacent cells.

How do I split a cell into multiple cells?

Split cells

How do you split a cell in Excel formula?

Split Unmerged Cell Using a Formula

Is there a split function in Excel?

The Microsoft Excel SPLIT function will split a string into substrings based on a delimiter. The result is returned as an array of substrings. The SPLIT function is a built-in function in Excel that is categorized as a String/Text Function. It can be used as a VBA function (VBA) in Excel.

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