[Solved] Split to first and last name columns

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Saxplayerz
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Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:47 pm

[Solved] Split to first and last name columns

Post by Saxplayerz »

I have a sheet that contains the first and last name in one case column and I would like to separate it into a first name column and a last name column. However there are a few names that are business entries as single words and a few that are listed like “Bob & Jane Smith “. How can I did that?
Last edited by MrProgrammer on Sat Mar 06, 2021 6:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Tagged ✓ [Solved]
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RusselB
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Re: Split to first and last name columns

Post by RusselB »

Welcome to the Forums.
You can start by using Data -> Text to Columns and use the space character as the separator. This should give you the split you want for most of the entries.
There will still be some that you'll have to edit manually, such as the "Bob & Jane Smith"
This is probably the easiest method.
An alternative is to find the location of the last space character and then generate a First name column going up to that character and a Last name column going from that character to the end of the string.
OpenOffice 4.1.7, LibreOffice 7.0.1.2 on Windows 7 Pro, Ultimate & Windows 10 Home (2004)
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