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How to Extract Text From a Cell in Excel?

August 23, 2023
40.7K Views

Extracting text from a cell is one of the most widely recognized utilization of Excel. You might have to remove messages all along, center, or from a particular piece of a cell. In this instructional exercise, we will tell you the best way to extract a text from a cell in Excel. By using these straightforward however successful methods, you can easily find and extract any part of a string from a cell. Excel has a bunch of TEXT Functions that can do wonders. You can do a wide range of text cut-up tasks utilizing these capabilities.

First, we are doing the left function to extract text from a cell.    

The LEFTfunction abstracts a particular number of characters from the left of a cell.    

This method needs some steps to perform.

1) First, we need to make data in our spreadsheet and place TEXT and EXTRACTED TEXT as an example like this.

2) Second step is to imply the formula of left function =LEFT(B5,4) in the C5 extracted text column and then press enter your text on the left side will appear in C5.

3) After that copy the formula and drag it up to C9 and automatically all your left text will appear in their boxes respectively.

So, by all these steps you successfully find out how to extract text from a cell easily.

How to extract text from a cell in Excel through the RIGHT function

The RIGHT function separates a particular number of characters from the finish of a string. This is also a function by which we can easily extract text from a cell. This method also requires some steps.

1) Make data as above which contains text and extracted text in it.

2) After this we need to imply the right function formula which is =RIGHT(B5,4 and place it in C5 below extracted text column and then press enter your extracted text from the right side will appear in the box.

3) Last step is to copy the formula up to cell number C5 and automatically all the extracted text of the right function will show in their boxes.

Congratulation you again extract a text from a cell through the right function easily by following all these steps without any difficulty.

How to extract text from a cell using the MID function.

Presently you need a particular piece of text from the center of a text. All things considered, you can utilize the MID capability to play out this. You need to give a beginning number and the number of characters you need to extract. This is also a method by which we can easily find out how to extract text from a cell.

To perform this function we need some steps to follow.

1) First, we need to make a data of Text and Extracted text in a spreadsheet but this data is not similar to the above one, there is a little bit of change in it like this.

2) After making data we need to apply the formula of mid function in C5 of extracted text column and here the formula we will use is =MID(B5,6,4) and after that press enters your mid value of extracted text will appear in C5 like this.

3) Last step is to copy the formula up to C9 then all the extracted text of mid values will appear in their respective boxes.

Congratulations you again find how to extract text from a cell easily with the MID function method.

You can also find this feature in the latest excel versions 2016/2018/2019 spreadsheet, where you can easily find how to extract text from a cell in excel.

Find And Replace Excel Extract Text From Cell

Suppose you have the following data in Excel and you want to get only the numbers mentioned against each ID. You do not want the word ID to be repeated in all occurrences. You can achieve this by using the REPLACE function. The REPLACE function replaces the given text and returns only the desired result.

Extract the ID numbers

You can use the REPLACE function as follows.

  • Open your desired Excel sheet.

  • Click on the first cell in the Extracted Text column and write the function as =REPLACE(F10,1,3,"").

Here

REPLACE is the function

F10 is the desired cell we want to extract text

1 is starting number of the string to be replaced

3 is the ending number of the string to be replaced

“” is the text with which the word ID- will be replaced. In this example, there is nothing within the double quotations.

The REPLACE function
  • Press Enter after writing the function. The word ID has been replaced.

REPLACE function output
  • Expand the selection to apply the formula to all cells.

Apply the formula to all cells

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The Best Solution To Extract Text from Cells In Excel

WPS Office Spreadsheet is the best software to extract text from Excel cells. It has many formulas and text functions to manipulate texts in Excel sheets.

WPS Spreadsheet formulas

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: How do I extract text from a cell after a character in Excel?

You can use the Excel TEXTAFTER function to extract text from a cell after a specific character. The function can be used in the following syntax.

=TEXTAFTER(text,delimiter)

Here,

TEXTAFTER is the function

Text is the string you want to find characters in

Delimiter is the text after which you want to start finding the text.

Here is an example. Suppose you want to find characters after the word class in the following sentence. The function will be written as

I am sitting in Class F and Alex is not here.

=TEXTAFTER(“I am sitting in Class F and Alex is not here.”, “class”)

Output

“F and Alex is not here.”

Q2: What is the formula for extracting text from cells in Excel?

There are different formulas available to extract text from cells. You can use the RIFGT, KEFT, MID, REPLACE, and FINF functions for Excel extracting text from cells.

Q3: How do I extract text from a cell before a character in Excel?

You can use the TEXTBEFORE function to extract text from a cell before a specific word. You can do this in the same way as we have discussed the TEXTAFTER function above. There is also a function to extract text between characters in Excel.

The Best Method to Extract Text From An Excel Cell - Wrap Up

We have discussed different methods for extracting text from cells in Excel. You can use any method depending on your needs. There are many Excel software available in the market to use. However, the WPS Office is the best software to use. WPS Office is free and multifunction software that includes a Writer, Presentations, and Spreadsheet software. You can use WPS Office Spreadsheet to analyze and maintain your data. You can also use Spreadsheet to extract text from cells in Excel.

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15 years of office industry experience, tech lover and copywriter. Follow me for product reviews, comparisons, and recommendations for new apps and software.