Topic: Text Functions

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Checking for Text It is often helpful to know whether a cell contains a text value. If you need to determine the whether a cell contains text or not, you can use the ISTEXT function. Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Cleaning Text You can use the CLEAN worksheet function to remove any non-printable characters from a cell. This can come in handy when you want to pare down what is stored in a worksheet. Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Concatenating Names with Delimiters Combining information from various cells is an easy task in Excel. If you want to conditionally include information based on what is in the various cells, the proposition becomes trickier. This tip explains how you can conditionally combine information from cells to create a desired result. Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Converting Codes to Characters Character codes are the numeric values used, by a computer, to signify various alphanumeric characters. You can use the CHAR worksheet function to discover the character code of any character. Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Ignoring Case in a Comparison The IF function can be used to compare the contents of two cells. If you are not careful, however, the comparison can yield unwanted results. This tip explains how to properly construct a formula so that IF returns the desired comparison. Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Reordering Last Name and First Name Names listed in a worksheet are often entered last name first. This tip provides a formula that can “turn around” such names so that the last name appears last. Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Repeating Cell Contents Do you want to repeat the contents of a cell throughout the entire width of a cell? There are two ways you can do it in Excel—one method formulaic and the other through formatting. Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Returning an ANSI Value Programmers know that you often need to look at the character code used for a specific character. Excel allows you to determine the same value through the use of the CODE worksheet function. Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Returning the Left-most Characters Need only the left=most characters from a text string? You can use the LEFT worksheet function to easily get just what you need. Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Specifying Proper Case The PROPER worksheet function, described in this tip, allows you to change the case of text in a cell. Creative use of the function can get your text into just the condition that you desire. Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Using the CONCATENATE Worksheet Function Want to join snippets of text together in a cell? You can do this using the CONCATENATE worksheet function, as described in this tip. You can also use the ampersand operator, which is a shorthand method of using the worksheet function. Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Using the REPT Function The REPT worksheet function is helpful for repeating a character or series of characters through the whole width of a cell. This tip explains how to use this rather esoteric function. Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

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