How To Split Cells In Google Sheets

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Google Sheets has become an essential tool for everyone who deals with data, calculations, or simply wants to manage their day-to-day tasks. Among its various features, one of the most useful ones is the ability to split cell content based on specific criteria. In this blog post, we will guide you on how to split cells in Google Sheets.

Understanding the Split Text to Columns Option

Google Sheets provides a simple and fast way to split cell content using the ‘Split text to columns’ option. It’s perfect for dividing content within a cell into different columns based on common separators such as commas, semicolons, periods, or spaces.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Select the cells that you want to split.
  2. Click on ‘Data’ from the menu bar.
  3. Select ‘Split text to columns’.
  4. A separator box will appear at the bottom of the screen. Choose the separator that matches your data. You can select a pre-set separator or define a custom one.

Using the SPLIT Function

Another way to split cells in Google Sheets is by using the SPLIT function. This function is more flexible as it allows you to split contents of a cell into multiple rows or to split text based on a custom delimiter.

The SPLIT function syntax is =SPLIT(text, delimiter, [split_by_each], [remove_empty_text]).

Here’s how to use it:

  1. In an empty cell, type the SPLIT function. For example, if you want to split cell A1 based on a comma, you would type =SPLIT(A1, “,”).
  2. Press Enter.

Below is a more detailed explanation about SPLIT function parameters:

  • text: The text to divide.
  • delimiter: The character or characters to divide the text around. It can be a single character or multiple characters.
  • split_by_each (optional): If TRUE, each character of delimiter is considered individually. If FALSE (default), delimiter is considered as a whole.
  • remove_empty_text (optional): If TRUE, empty text is removed. If FALSE (default), empty text is kept.

Here’s an example of the SPLIT function:

    =SPLIT("One,Two,Three", ",", TRUE, TRUE)

This formula will split the text “One, Two, Three” into separate cells based on the comma delimiter, considering each comma individually and removing empty text.

Final Words

Google Sheets provides powerful tools for manipulating and analyzing data. By knowing how to split cells, you can make your data easier to read and understand. We hope this guide has been helpful for learning how to split cells in Google Sheets. Happy data managing!