Parse Data in Excel
This article teaches you how to parse data separated by delimiters in Microsoft Excel.
Steps
- Open Excel. To find it, click the Windows menu, navigate to Microsoft Office, then click Microsoft Excel.
- Open the file that contains the data. To find the file, click the rounded Windows symbol at the top-left corner of excel, click Open, then select the file.
- Click the header of the column you want to parse. This highlights the whole column.
- Click the Data tab. It’s at the top of the screen, near the center (between Formulas and Review).
- Click Text to Columns. It’s the first item on the Data Tools tab. This opens the Convert Text to Columns wizard.
- Select Delimited. A blue dot will appear next to this option when selected.
- Click Next. It’s near the bottom-right corner of the wizard.
- Select the delimiters. Place a check mark next to the option that describes the way your data is separated, or select Other to enter your own.
- For example, if you have cells that contain something like “Smith, John” you may select “Comma.”
- A preview will appear in the box at the bottom of the screen.
- Click Next.
- Select an option under “Column data format.” This option should reflect the type of data in the column.
- For example, if your column contains dates, select Date, then choose the date format from the drop-down menu.
- Click the red arrow to the right of the “Destination” field. Now you can specify the destination of the parsed data. You’ll be returned to the spreadsheet to do this.
- Click the red arrow again to return to the wizard.
- Click Finish. It’s at the bottom-right corner of the wizard. Your data will now display with your updated preferences.
