Tame your computer - name nudges

Have you ever needed to split a cell containing the full name of a person into a separate first name and last name cell? Perhaps you downloaded information from other software and you ended up with data in one cell that you would prefer to have in two cells?

If you are still using Excel 2010 you can use the Text to Columns option on the Data tab, as described in tip 225. But if you’ve upgraded to Excel 2013 or later you can use the Flash Fill functionality from the Auto Fill Options button that pops up when you’ve used the Auto Fill feature. (More about Auto Fill at the bottom of this tip under Related tips.)

But there is an even quicker way. OK, not a very intuitive one, but it’s so good I will remember!

Here’s how:

1. Click in cell B2.

2. Type Anne.
3. Press ENTER.
4. Press CTRL + E.

You can also use it the other way around, i.e. turn two separate columns containing first name and last name into a full name. Much simpler than the CONCATENATE Function or the formula such as =A2&" "&B2.

With thanks to George for this week’s tip inspiration!

Related tips

Split first name and last name into separate cells

Move or copy cells using drag and drop

Stop AutoFill

Quickly increase a list of numbers by one

Quickly repeating a formula down a column

Quickly enter a series of weekdays

Upcoming webinars

The best way to understand Flash Fill and other tips is to see it in action. So why not sign up for one of our upcoming 60-minute webinars? (£20+VAT.)

As George wrote following his 60-minute Excel webinar … The course was really useful and worked well over video call. I would definitely recommend it to anyone wishing to brush up on their Excel knowledge.

31 August 2020

Karen Roem offers software training and support through her company Roem Ltd.  Contact her by email (Karen@roem.co.uk) or visit her website at  www.roem.co.uk