
#FLASH FILL IN EXCEL 2016 FOR MAC HOW TO#
Now let us see how to add some text to the end of every name in the dataset. Using CONCATENATE to Add Text to the End of all Cells That’s it, all your cells in column B should now contain the title “Prof.” preceding each name. Alternatively, you can drag down the fill handle to achieve the same effect. Simply double click the fill handle (located at the bottom right of cell B2). You will notice that the title “Prof.” is added before the first name on the list.In our example, your formula should now be: =CONCATENATE(“Prof. Select the cell containing the first name (A2).

” in double-quotes, followed by a comma (,). Enter the function CONCATENATE, followed by an opening bracket (.Click on the first cell of the column where you want the converted names to appear (B2).Let’s apply the CONCATENATE function to the same dataset as above: are substrings that you want to combine together. The general syntax for the CONCATENATE function is: =CONCATENATE( text1,, …) The only difference is in the way both are used. The CONCATENATE() function provides the same functionality as the ampersand (&) operator. Using CONCATENATE to Add Text to the Beginning of all Cells Let’s see how to use CONCATENATE to do this. I’ve never met anyone who has heard of it or used except the person that told me about it….Ĭheck out my Excel Basic Data Analytics series.CONCATENATE is an Excel function that you can use to add text at the beginning and end of the text string. I found the Excel 2013 Flash Fill videoes online at you can also access them via Excel Help.įinally, if any of you have EVER used Flash Fill before, let me know. You won’t believe EVERYTHING it can do unless you watch 3 quick videos. This is only a SIMPLE example of what the tool can do. Excel does the rest, filling B3 and the rest of column B with only last names. Then click in blank cell B3, and on the Data tab, click the Flash Fill icon.

Cell A2 contains ‘Siri Apothke’, so type ‘Apothke’ in cell B2.

Cell A1 contains ‘Bill Satish’, so type ‘Satish’ in cell B1 on the same row. Then click the Flash Fill icon, and Excel figures out the rest.Īssume column A contains first and last names of your users, but you want only the last name in a new column. Without ever entering a formula!īasically, all you have to do is create a blank column, and enter 2 examples of the data you want extracted from the data that already exists in other columns. You can even add numbers using Flash Fill. It allows you to extract selected portions of data from one column to another and format that data.įor example, Flash Fill can extract “Satish” out of “Bill Satish”, or can format “4184658901” as “(418) 465-8901”. They could have also named it Flash Format, because it does formatting too. I like to describe Flash Fill as Text to Columnson steriods with concatenation mixed in. This tool is so easy to use, you could learn it AND teach it to your mom in 4 minutes.

You can easily use Excel’s Flash Fill tool to transform data fast, without formulas.įlash Fill has been around a few years, but few people, including auditors, seem to be aware of it.
