Split a stuck-together name column
TEXTSPLIT breaks text at a delimiter into separate cells.
Task:
Payroll sent one column with first and last names in it, and the new system needs them apart. In C2, use TEXTSPLIT to split the name in A2 at the space so the first name lands in C2 and the surname in D2.
Interactive Spreadsheet
Hints
+5 XPno-hints bonusSolve it on your own to keep the bonus. Each hint gets one step closer to the formula.
Variations of TEXTSPLIT
0/3The same formula in the other shapes it takes at work.
- Split a stuck-together name column
TEXTSPLIT breaks text at a delimiter into separate cells.
CoreIntermediate - TEXTSPLIT a code into its parts
One formula per row; each spills across as many columns as there are parts.
Intermediate - TEXTSPLIT on a comma and a space
A delimiter can be more than one character, so no stray spaces are left behind.
Intermediate
The data in this exercise
This is the grid you start with. Cell references in the task — B6, C2 — point at the row numbers and column letters below.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Full name | Staff ID | First | Last |
| 2 | Ada Lovelace | E-104 | ||
| 3 | Bo Nilsson | E-118 | ||
| 4 | Cy Watanabe | E-133 |
What this exercise teachesMay contain the answer
Text to Columns does this once and then you do it again next month. TEXTSPLIT spills across, so it stays correct when the data is refreshed — and it is the first spill most people meet that goes sideways rather than down.