This document provides instructions for using various text functions in Excel to analyze and manipulate text data. It discusses how to use TEXT to COLUMNS to separate list items into columns using delimiters or fixed widths. It also covers using LEFT, RIGHT, MID, REPLACE, CONCATENATE, and PROPER functions to extract, replace, join, and format portions of text. The document demonstrates applying these functions to real data examples like names and addresses to clean them up in the spreadsheet.

1. Text Functions in Excel How to make sense out of downloaded text files in Excel 2003 By Kevin McLogan [email_address] [email_address] facebook.com/kmclogan linkedin.com/in/kevinmclogan www.kevinmclogan.com

2. Course Objectives: After you complete this course to will be able to: Analyze text and manage downloaded lists. Make a list functional for mailing, emailing, or walking. Format the contents of a worksheet Create spreadsheets that amaze your friends and strike fear into the hearts of your enemies

3. For this class, I am making the following assumptions, and it is critical that you are honest That you can copy and paste data That you can open Excel by using the Start Menu or by opening files That you know how to identify the active cell That you know how to move from sheet to sheet That you can fill rows and columns of cells That you have a basic familiarity with Excel 2003 and that this is the version you are using That you understand and use common Windows elements

4. In order for us to make this an outstanding experience Ask questions if you are not clear on a concept If you have a problem with a file, let us know so that you can reload it. I will talk really fast if you let me-slow me down if I get ahead of you. If you need help, please let us know-if you can help, please do. This is a hands-on lesson, so you will learn by doing-you might want to take some notes.

5. Text Functions Text functions help you manage the text data in your spreadsheets.

6. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A LIST LIKE THIS?

7. TEXT to COLUMNS When you have multiple items in the cells of a column and you need to separate them out.

8. TEXT to COLUMNS DELIMITED allows you to choose which mark will cause the separation FIRST-Highlight the column you want to separate.

9. Chose what Delimiter you want to use

10. Check to see that you are getting the desired results.

11. Your results using DELIMITED Here you have successfully broken up a text file to a workable Excel spreadsheet.

12. TEXT to COLUMNS FIXED WIDTH allows you to choose a point at which the data will be separated.

13. I want to manage the phone numbers First, insert at least one column to the right of the column you are manipulating.

14. Choose Fixed Width

15. Move arrow to the point at which you want to divide the data.

16. Check the destination

17. Your results using FIXED WIDTH

18. LEFT and RIGHT These functions allow you to extract a substring from a string, starting from the left-most or right-most character. The syntax for the Left and Right functions are: Text is the string that you wish to extract from. Num_char indicates the number of characters that you wish to extract starting from the left-most or right-most character.

19. Your results using LEFT Important note: avoid using this function when there are leading zeroes, it will not recognize the zeroes!

20. MID =MID: takes part of a text string apart This function extracts a substring from a string (starting at any position). Text is the string that you wish to extract from. Start_num indicates the position in the string that you will begin extracting from. The first position in the string is 1. Number_of_characters indicates the number of characters that you wish to extract.

21. REPLACE This function replaces a sequence of characters in a string with another set of characters. Old_text is the original string value. Start is the position in old text to begin replacing characters. Num_chars is the number of characters to replace in the old text. New_text is the replacement set of characters

22. CONCATENATE =CONCATENATE: puts several strings of text into one text string this function allows you to join 2 or more strings together. There can be up to 30 strings that are joined together

23. Put First and Last names together

24. Your results using CONCATENATE

25. PROPER This is pretty cool! (But it doesn’t work on me) This function sets the first character in each word to uppercase and the rest to lowercase.

27. Your results using PROPER

28. But wait…How do we deal with all of the folks with these names (like me)? What about these folks?

29. Using what we have learned, we would do the following: Insert a column to the right of the changed names (Column B), Use =MID to extract the portion of the name we need to change in this case it would be from the third character and extract a large number to get all the letters in the name: =MID(B1474,3,12)

30. Then we insert another column to the right of column C, and make the extracted string Proper: =PROPER(C1474)

31. Then we put it all together by adding another column to the right, and use CONCATENATE with a static string (in this case “Mc”) Remember, we need to make sure that we take care of any other similar names in the same way, such as ones that start with O’, De, and so on.

32. Then, copy the work we have done in column E, in the cells we have altered, paste the VALUES of the results in column B, (again, only the cells we have changed), then we eliminate the columns where we have done work.

33. And then this is our result! All cleaned up! Now we go through the same process with the first and middle names, addresses, and city information.

34. I leave you with this: SAVE YOUR WORK! Thank you for participating, happy spread sheeting!