Microsoft KB Archive/142149

= XL: How to Parse Data Using the Text To Columns Command =

Article ID: 142149

Article Last Modified on 8/17/2005

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 98 for Macintosh
 * Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Excel 95 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Excel 95a
 * Microsoft Excel 5.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Excel 5.0c
 * Microsoft Excel 5.0 for Macintosh
 * Microsoft Excel 5.0a for Macintosh
 * Microsoft Excel 5.0 for Macintosh
 * Microsoft Excel 5.0a for Macintosh
 * Microsoft Excel 5.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q142149





SUMMARY
This article contains information about how to parse data in Microsoft Excel by using the Text To Columns command.



MORE INFORMATION
If you copy data from another program and paste it into Microsoft Excel, Excel may condense several columns of data to a single column. You can use the Text To Columns command on the Data menu to put each record in a separate column. The range that you convert may contain many rows, but you can only convert one column of data at a time.

To create an example that demonstrates how to use the Text To Columns command:  Create a new workbook.  In Sheet1, enter the following data:      A1: The,dog,ran A2: 156,156,451 A3: abc,def A4: abcdefg,hijkl A5: 2554,4874,41  Select the range A1:A5. On the Data menu, click Text To Columns. In Step 1 of the Convert Text To Columns Wizard, make sure that Delimited is selected, and then click Next. In Step 2 of the Convert Text To Columns Wizard, click to select the Comma check box under Delimiters, and then click Next.

NOTE: All of the check boxes under Delimiters should be clear except for the Comma check box.</li> In Step 3 of the Convert Text To Columns Wizard, type B1 in the Destination box, and then click Finish.</li></ol>

Your data is parsed into separate columns, beginning with column B, and the data in Sheet1 should resemble the following: <pre class="fixed_text">  A1: The,dog,ran     B1: The     C1: dog   D1: ran A2: 156,156,451    B2: 156     C2: 156   D2: 451 A3: abc,def        B3: abc     C3: def A4: abcdefg,hijkl  B4: abcdefg C4: hijk A5: 2554,4874,41   B5: 2554    C5: 4874  D5: 41

<div class="references_section">

Microsoft Excel 7.0
For more information about parsing data in Microsoft Excel, click Answer Wizard on the Help menu and type:

tell me how to parse data

Microsoft Excel 5.0
For more information about Parsing Data in Microsoft Excel, click the Search button in Help and type:

parsing

Additional query words: 5.00a 5.00c 7.00a XL98 XL97 XL7 XL5

Keywords: kbhowto kbinfo KB142149

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