How to Separate Text in Excel

Steps

1. Select the column to split - Click the column header (or select the cells) that hold the combined text you want to separate.
2. Open Data > Text to Columns - On the Data tab, choose Text to Columns to launch the wizard.
3. Pick Delimited or Fixed width - Choose Delimited for values separated by a character (comma, space, tab), or Fixed width to split at set character positions.
4. Choose the delimiter - Tick the delimiter that separates your data - comma, space, tab, semicolon, or Other for a custom character. The preview shows the resulting columns.
5. Set the destination and finish - Pick where the split columns should land (use an empty destination to avoid overwriting data) and click Finish.

Before You Start

• Add empty columns to the right first, or set a destination, so the split output does not overwrite adjacent data.
• Space as a delimiter is the quickest way to split full names into first and last name.
• Fixed width is useful for codes and reports where fields always start at the same position.

Alternative Methods

• Split text online - Upload your workbook to the Text to Columns tool, choose the column and delimiter, preview the result, and download a new file - no Excel needed.
• Use Flash Fill - Type the result you want in the next column and press Ctrl+E. Excel detects the pattern and fills the rest automatically (Excel 2013+).
• Use formulas - Combine LEFT, RIGHT, MID, FIND, and TEXTSPLIT (Excel 365) to extract parts of a string into separate columns dynamically.