What this category helps you do
Text formulas are essential when data comes from forms, exports, CRMs, accounting systems, or copied lists. They turn messy labels, names, codes, and descriptions into clean columns you can analyze.
- Combine first and last names
- Extract text before or after a delimiter
- Remove extra spaces or line breaks
- Convert names to proper case
Text formula examples
Choose a formula below. Each page explains the formula in plain English and gives examples one at a time so long formulas are easier to read and copy.
CLEAN
removes many non-printing characters from text.
Open examples →FormulaCombine First and Last Name
joins first name and last name into one full name column.
Open examples →FormulaCONCAT
joins text from several cells or ranges.
Open examples →FormulaCONCATENATE
joins text values together in older workbooks.
Open examples →FormulaEXACT
compares two text values and returns TRUE only when they match exactly, including case.
Open examples →FormulaExtract Numbers from Text
pulls numeric characters out of a mixed text value.
Open examples →FormulaExtract Text After Delimiter
returns the part of a text value after a selected delimiter.
Open examples →FormulaExtract Text Before Delimiter
returns the part of a text value before a selected delimiter.
Open examples →FormulaFIND
returns the position of text inside another text value and is case-sensitive.
Open examples →FormulaLEFT
returns characters from the start of a text value.
Open examples →FormulaLEN
counts the number of characters in a text value.
Open examples →FormulaLOWER
converts text to lowercase.
Open examples →FormulaMID
returns characters from the middle of a text value.
Open examples →FormulaNUMBERVALUE
converts text to a number while controlling decimal and group separators.
Open examples →FormulaPROPER
capitalizes the first letter of each word.
Open examples →FormulaREPLACE
replaces text by position and length.
Open examples →FormulaRIGHT
returns characters from the end of a text value.
Open examples →FormulaSEARCH
returns the position of text inside another text value and is not case-sensitive.
Open examples →FormulaSeparate First Name
extracts the first name from a full name.
Open examples →FormulaSeparate Last Name
extracts the last name from a full name.
Open examples →FormulaSUBSTITUTE
replaces specific text with other text.
Open examples →FormulaTEXT
formats a number or date as text using a format code.
Open examples →FormulaTEXTAFTER
returns text after a delimiter.
Open examples →FormulaTEXTBEFORE
returns text before a delimiter.
Open examples →FormulaTEXTJOIN
joins text with a delimiter and can ignore blank cells.
Open examples →FormulaTEXTSPLIT
splits text into columns or rows using delimiters.
Open examples →FormulaTRIM
removes extra spaces from text, leaving single spaces between words.
Open examples →FormulaUPPER
converts text to uppercase.
Open examples →FormulaVALUE
converts text that looks like a number into a real number.
Open examples →Best formulas to start with
How to learn this category
- Open one formula page and test the first beginner example.
- Change one cell reference at a time so you understand what each part controls.
- Check the common mistakes section before copying the formula down.
- Move to related formulas when you need a cleaner or more advanced version.