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Generic formula
= LEFT(a1,FIND(" ",a1) - 1)
Explanation
If you need to extract the rst word from some text you can use a formula that uses the FIND and LEFT functions. From the
example, the formula looks like this:
= LEFT(B4,FIND(" ",B4) - 1)
FIND returns the position (as a number) of the rst occurrence of a space character in the text. This position, minus one, is fed into
the LEFT function as num_chars.
The LEFT function then extracts characters starting at the the left side of the text, up to (position - 1).
If a cell contains only one word, this formula returns an error. One way to x this problem is to wrap the original formula in the
IFERROR function like so:
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Another simple way to handle the error is to append a space to the cell value before running FIND:
This ensures that FIND will always nd at least one space, and will therefore not throw an error. When a cell contains more than
one word, there is no impact because the formula works only with the rst space.
Author
Dave Bruns
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Split text string at Extract nth word from Cell contains specific Get last word
specific character text string text
Extract text between Extract word containing Extract word that begins Extract multiple lines
parentheses specific text with specific character from a cell
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17 Comments exceljet
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Name
Your formula works well for FirstName LastName but it doesn't for FirstName. Can you possibly suggest a solution.
Many thanks,
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Assuming you want to return just the first name in cases where there is no last name?
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Thanks again my friend. May the internet Gods bless you !!!!!!!!!!!!
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I didn't literally mean you added it now. that just that I didn't read it in detail last time ;-)
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Dave Bruns Mod > Deepak Gowda • 2 years ago
Excellent - thanks.
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Hi - I'm Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster
in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables,
conditional formatting, and charts. Read more.
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