Functions which can be used to

standardize text data.

Introduction
Inconsistent or unreliable text data can negatively impact data analysis. If a worksheet contains
such data, then Microsoft Excel will often exclude this information from its formula results,
searches, filters, or sorts. This information may even be ignored or counted twice during data
analysis.

Fortunately, Excel offers a range of functions that can be used to adjust or remove unnecessary
text from strings and prepare the data for data analysis.

By the end of this reading, you’ll be able to:

• Understand the different functions available to adjust text data or remove errors.
• Create reliable text function formulas by using the correct syntax.

Scenario
Jamie at Adventure Works is working on a spreadsheet that contains a large amount of customer
information. She has identified problems with how the text data is entered and stored. Some
entries contain unnecessary characters that need to be removed. In other places, the information
needs to be either separated into several columns or joined together in one.

Let’s examine a range of text functions that Jamie can use to fix these issues.

Note: In all the function formulas below, the arguments should be separated by commas.

The LEFT, RIGHT and MID Functions

The LEFT, RIGHT and MID functions are used to return a specific number of characters from
either the left, the right, or the middle side of a cell entry. Typically, these functions are used in
situations where you need to transfer parts of the cell content to a different column.

The LEFT and RIGHT function formulas need two arguments. You must specify the cell which
contains the original entry and the number of characters you would like extracted from it.

A MID function formula needs three arguments:

• The first is the location of the text entry.

• The second is the position in the entry where Excel must begin counting characters.
• The third is the number of characters to the right of that position to extract.

Let’s explore an example of this using Adventure Works. Adventure Works is processing an
order for Doctor Martin Garcia. While preparing this order, they must analyze and filter his name
or title. This analysis would be easier if the data were formatted or standardized over several
columns such as Title, First Name, and Last Name.

In the image of the customer spreadsheet, the customer’s name Doctor Martin Garcia was typed
in cell B2. If the spreadsheet were filtered by the term Doctor in the Title column, then this
customer’s information would be included. If the term Doctor was part of a longer entry, then this
customer might be overlooked in a filter or a search.

Let's use functions to standardize this text data.

The formula in C2 will extract the six characters to the left of the entry, the title Doctor. This
formula reads as follows:

=LEFT(B2,6)

The formula in D2 will begin with the eighth character and return the next six characters to the
right, which is the first name of Martin. This formula is:

=MID(B2,8,6)

The formula in E2 will extract the six characters to the right of the entry, which is the last name of
Garcia. Excel counts the six characters from right to left in the cell. This formula is:

=RIGHT(B2,6)
Many data analysts use the LEFT, RIGHT and MID functions to split the contents of a column into
three separate columns. With very large blocks of data, this may become clumsy.

There is an Excel feature called Text to columns which performs this action more efficiently. This
tool is explained in the Microsoft support page Split text into different columns with the Convert
Text to Columns Wizard. It is also available in the Additional Resources reading at the end of this
module.

TRIM
The TRIM function is used to remove any empty spaces from text strings, except for the spaces
between words. This is useful for situations where you suspect that there are random spaces at
the beginning or end of an entry. If the TRIM function is run on a cell without any spaces before
or after the entry, it will simply return the entry itself without making any changes. The TRIM
function formula only needs one argument, which is the location of the piece of text you would
like the function to work with.

In the Image below, there are spaces before and after the entry Doctor Martin Garcia in cell B2.
The formula in C2 will remove them but keep the spaces between the title, first, and last names.
This formula reads as follows:

=TRIM(B2)

The formula result is the entry of Doctor Martin Garcia without the leading or trailing spaces. An
example of this is displayed in D2 in the image below.
This function is a useful way to tidy up a column of text before beginning any analysis.

For example, you suspect that entries from A2 down to A200 in a worksheet contain
unnecessary spaces. To fix this, you can use the TRIM function.

First you could Insert a new blank column to the right of the column which contains the
inconsistent entries. In this new column you could create a TRIM formula in the first cell to
remove any spaces from the entry in A2. Then you can use Autofill to copy the formula down to
cell A200 to run a similar check and tidy-up process on the rest of the entries in column A. You
would then proceed to copy the results to the clipboard and then paste them back as values. And
to finish off the TRIM procedure, you would then delete the original column A.

UPPER, LOWER and PROPER

Using the wrong case in text data can make a summary or report appear untidy or
unprofessional. There are three functions you can use to standardize the case used in text
entries. These are UPPER, LOWER and PROPER.

The UPPER function converts all lowercase characters into uppercase, while the LOWER function
does the opposite. The PROPER function will only capitalize the first character of each word in a
piece of text. All three functions require only one argument, which is the location of the piece of
text you would like the function to work on.

In the following example, Doctor Martin Garcia’s name and title have been typed incorrectly in
several ways in cells B2 to B4. The formula in C2 converts all the letters to uppercase. The
formula is:

=UPPER(B2)

The sample result DOCTOR MARTIN GARCIA in D2 in the screenshot below displays the result
this formula produces.

The formula in C3 using the LOWER function converts all the letters in the entry to lowercase. The
formula is:
=LOWER(B3)

The result, doctor martin garcia, is displayed as a sample in D3 in the screenshot below.

The formula in C4 uses the PROPER function to create a result of three words with a capital at the
beginning of each one. The formula reads as follows:

=PROPER(B4)

Cell D4 in the screenshot below displays the result of this formula: Doctor Martin Garcia.

CONCAT
There may be occasions when you need to combine entries from different cells in a spreadsheet
into a single-cell entry. For this action, you can use the CONCAT function. The arguments for the
function are the cell references separated by commas. As you type this formula, the floating Help
box displays three dots to indicate that you can include multiple cell references.
You can use CONCAT to combine the content of cells that contain numbers. However, be aware
that the use of the CONCAT function means that the data type of the combined result will be text
and not numeric.

Let’s take an example where cell A2 contains the title Doctor, B2 the first name Martin and C2 the
last name Garcia. The formula in D2 reads as follows:

=CONCAT(A2,B2,C2)

A sample result of this formula is displayed in E2 in the screenshot below: DoctorMartinGarcia.

As you can imagine, this is not quite correct. Spaces are required between the words, but if you
type spaces in the formula, it will generate an error. Instead, they must be added as arguments.
They are surrounded by double quotes so that Excel knows that they are text characters to be
added. The formula in D4 combines the same cells but also allows for spaces. The formula is:

=CONCAT(A2,” “,B2,” “,C2,” “)

The result of this formula would be Doctor Martin Garcia, as is shown in the sample result in E4
in the screenshot below.
There is an older function in Excel called CONCATENATE which performs the same action as
CONCAT. You may see this in spreadsheets. It is explained on the CONCATENATE function page
on the Microsoft support site. It is also available in the Additional Resources reading.

Conclusion
By using text functions, Jamie has ensured that the unnecessary spaces which would have
caused problems for data analysis have been removed from the customer names. The customer
titles have been moved to a separate column so that it’s easier to identify how many Adventure
Works customers fall into specific professional groups, which could influence marketing
campaigns. The first and last names have been split across two columns so that emails can be
personalized.