Use Excel's Text To Columns command to separate first and last names

If you need to split a list of names into two columns, you don’t have to do it manually. See how this Excel wizard can quickly knock out the task for you.

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When importing data into a worksheet, it is often necessary to separate the cell contents into two columns. For example, say you’ve imported the list of names shown in Figure A.

Figure A

For your mailing program, you need to separate the first and last names into two columns. Follow these steps:

1. Select A2:A10.
2. Go to Data | Text To Columns. In Excel 2007, click the Data tab and then click the Text To Columns command in the Data Tools group.
3. In Step 1 of the Convert Text To Columns Wizard, click Delimited (Figure B).

Figure B

1. Click Next to advance to Step 2 of the wizard, then select the Space check box and clear the Tab check box in the Delimiters section (Figure C).

Figure C

1. Click Next to advance to Step 3, then click Text under Column Data Format (Figure D).

Figure D

1. Click on the second column in the Data Preview window and then click Text under Column Data Format (Figure E).
2. Enter D2 in the Destination text box and click Finish.

Figure E

Figure F shows the results.

Figure F

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