Data Import & Export

How to Split Bulleted Email Text into Excel Rows or Columns

Chanuka Geekiyanage Oct 10, 2026 870 views

Question details

Extracting multi-line bulleted text from a single cell into distinct rows or columns.

How to Split Bulleted Email Text into Separate Excel Rows or Columns

Product: Microsoft Excel
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing weekly email reports where the body content, including headings and bullets, is imported and merged into one single Excel cell.
Observed behavior: The email content is stored as a single block of text separated by line breaks, requiring extraction into individual rows or columns for proper data formatting and analysis.

Before you start

Ensure your imported email data uses consistent line breaks to separate the bullets, and identify if the bullets contain uniform symbols (like '•') before you begin the splitting process.

Solution 1Recommended

Use Power Query to Split by Line Breaks

Power Query is the most robust and automated method for splitting multi-line cells into either rows or columns, especially for recurring email data.

By utilizing Power Query's advanced delimiter options, you can automatically parse line feeds and separate the text. This is highly recommended because it can be easily refreshed when new data is added.

Open Power Query

Select your data range and go to the Data tab. Click on 'From Table/Range' to open the Power Query Editor.

Select Split Column

Right-click the header of the column containing the email body and select 'Split Column', then choose 'By Delimiter'.

Set Custom Delimiter

In the dialog box, select 'Custom' from the delimiter dropdown. Check the box for 'Split using special characters' and select 'Line Feed' #(lf) from the list.

Choose Rows or Columns

Under Advanced Options, select whether you want to split the data into 'Columns' or 'Rows', then click OK.

Load the Data

Click 'Close & Load' in the top-left corner to output the neatly separated bullet points into your Excel worksheet.

Dynamic Updates: Once configured, you can simply paste new email data into your source table, right-click the output table, and select 'Refresh' to instantly apply the same splitting rules.

Solution 2

Use the TEXTSPLIT Function (Excel 365)

If you are using Excel 365 or Excel for the Web, you can dynamically split text into columns or rows using a single formula.

Best Alternative Solution

Easily Split and Clean Text Data with WPS Spreadsheet

WPS Office provides an intuitive suite of data processing tools, including powerful Text to Columns capabilities and standard text-manipulation functions, making it effortless to split multi-line email text.

1. Open Data in WPS: Download and launch WPS Office, then open your spreadsheet containing the bulleted email data.
2. Select the Data: Highlight the column or specific cells that contain the clumped multi-line text.
3. Open Text to Columns: Navigate to the 'Data' tab on the top ribbon and click on 'Text to Columns' to launch the parsing wizard.
4. Set Delimiters: Choose 'Delimited', and in the custom separator field, use the line break shortcut (Ctrl+J) or type the bullet symbol to split the text.
5. Finish and Clean: Select your destination cells and click Finish. Use WPS's built-in TRIM function to remove any remaining spaces.

Free, lightweight, and incredibly fast for data processing100% compatible with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) formats and formulasFamiliar user interface makes data cleaning simple and accessibleBuilt-in advanced text tools tailored for complex data imports

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I remove the actual bullet point symbol (•) from my split text?

You can use the SUBSTITUTE function to replace the bullet symbol with nothing. For example, the formula =SUBSTITUTE(B2, "•", "") will strip the bullet symbol from cell B2. It is highly recommended to wrap this inside a TRIM function to catch any extra trailing spaces.

What if I don't have Excel 365 and cannot use TEXTSPLIT?

If you are using an older version of Excel, Power Query is the most reliable alternative. Alternatively, you can use the traditional 'Text to Columns' feature under the Data tab. In the wizard, select 'Delimited', check the 'Other' box, and press Ctrl+J to insert a line break delimiter.

Why is my split data containing extra blank rows or spaces?

This typically occurs if the original email text contains double line breaks, inconsistent spacing, or non-breaking spaces. Using the TRIM function on your final result, or filtering out empty rows inside the Power Query editor, will seamlessly clean up the final output.

Excel & Data Problems