How to Split Text into Columns in Excel

Follow these steps in order to split single-cell data into multiple columns.

  1. Select the column that holds the data to split

    Select the column where each cell contains several pieces of information bundled together.

  2. Click "Data" then "Text to Columns"

    On the "Data" tab, click "Text to Columns."

  3. Choose "Delimited"

    If the data is separated by a consistent character like a comma or space, choose "Delimited."

  4. Select the delimiter

    Check the character that separates your data β€” comma, tab, space, or another symbol.

  5. Finish and check the result

    Click "Finish" and the data that was in one column automatically splits into several columns.

Turn one messy cell into clean columns

If you receive data like "name,phone,email" all packed into a single cell, Text to Columns makes it easy to split each piece into its own dedicated column.

Check for duplicates while you are cleaning up

After splitting data into proper columns, it is often worth also scanning for duplicate rows β€” between splitting and deduplicating, most common spreadsheet cleanup jobs are covered without writing a single formula.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if multiple delimiters are mixed together?

On the delimiter screen you can check several options at once β€” comma, tab, space, and more β€” so mixed delimiters can be handled in a single pass.

What happens to the original column after splitting?

The split data fills in starting from the original column position and expands to the right, so it is a good idea to make sure there are empty columns available to the right beforehand.