r/excel • u/East_Supermarket8550 • 1d ago
unsolved need to separate data from cells with multiple lines of text
i have to pull zip codes out of a column that has full client contact data in each cell and cannot figure out how to use the delimited tool or formulas to get the correct data. each cell is arranged like this:
Client Name
Address Line 1
City, State Zip
Phone Number
Email
I have several hundred rows in this column and need just the zip code separated. i've tried several methods and cannot find a solution.
EDIT: when i try to use the delimited tool, it only pulls the first line of text, client name, and not any of the other lines. i cannot understand why
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u/TA1930 1d ago
I mean this sounds like text-to-columns, just click the checkbox for “Tab” and you’re done. You can concat and/or hide the other columns after.
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u/no_therworldly 1 8h ago
How the hell could I forget about tab being literally there in the text to columns section 🤦🏼🤦🏼🤦🏼
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u/ThisIsAdamB 1d ago
A quick search gave me:
=REGEXEXTRACT(A1, “\b\d{5} \b”, 0 , 0)
Assuming your data is in cell A1. If you need the zip plus four extracted, you would have to substitute a regex pattern matching #####-####, instead of #####, which is the d{5} does.
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u/overitalready04 1d ago
Look for "text to colums". I think it's in the data tab. I'm assuming that city state and zip are in the same cell. You may have to insert column to the right of the cell, but text to columns will take the city state zip into separate columns if you use space as the delimiter
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u/no_therworldly 1 1d ago
There must be (I don't know it though) to delimit by tab Or replace all tabs within the cells with another special character and then delimit by that new character. Afterwards you can do TEXT AFTER on the space before zip
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u/East_Supermarket8550 1d ago
do you know how i would replace all tabs? sorry, i am not very good with excel, i am doing this for an older coworker
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u/StevieG-2021 1d ago
You’d have to be sure its tab delimited. Often data likes this uses a carriage return.
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u/FunkSoulCousin 1d ago
Can you not just add two extra columns with these formulas?
=RIGHT(cell with city state zip, 5) for ZIP
=LEFT (cell with city state zip, LEN(cell with city state zip)-6) for City, State?
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u/MlookSM 1d ago edited 15h ago
Can't you do Ctrl + J in the text to column delimiter? I believe that make the line break itself be the delimiter.
Separate into multiple columns and extract the column in which the ZIP lies. and go from there.
I haven't tested it, but if it doesn't work just use =SUBSTITUTE( A1, CHAR(10),"©") which turn line breaks into a non used symbol, then use said delimiter © in Text to columns.
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u/Klutzy_Highlight7500 23h ago
To answer your edit: those line breaks aren't tabs, so the Tab checkbox does nothing. In Text to Columns, tick Other, click in its box and press Ctrl+J (looks empty, but it enters the line break), and each line lands in its own column. The zip will then be at the end of the third column, so you can grab it with TEXTAFTER(C1," ",-1).
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u/carbonizedtitanium 1 23h ago
Post a screenshot of your spreadsheet in the comments. Redact or replace sensitive information with dummy info


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