An alternate approach is to copy all of the cells from the original column to both new columns.It is much easier to combine data than to split it, and combining data can be done automatically using the CONCATENATE function. When creating spreadsheets, each column should be be the smallest possible unit of information. Then delete the original column.Īn ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Use Paste Special and select Values to convert the cell contents from a formula result to data. Once the cells are populated, copy the column and paste it into the same location. For example, if a nine digit phone number is in cell A1, using =LEFT(A1,3) in cell B1 will put the area code in cell B1. An alternate approach is to create formulas using the LEFT and RIGHT functions in the new columns. In some cases the Text to Columns wizard may not give good results. The Text to Columns wizard can also be used to split one column into three or more columns – just insert the number of columns required before starting the wizard. This is only necessary if the data in the original column is inconsistently entered or formatted. Then use Find and Replace and manual editing to modify the content in each column.