Rita described a problem where she is provided information, in an Excel worksheet, that combines both numbers and alphabetic characters in a cell. In particular, a cell may contain "3.5 V", which means that 3.5 hours of vacation time was taken. (The character at the end of the cell could change, depending on the type of hours the entry represented.) Rita wondered if it was possible to still use the data in a formula in some way.
Yes, it is possible, and there are several ways to approach the issue. The easiest way (and cleanest) would be to simply move the alphabetic characters to their own column. Assuming that the entries will always consist of a number, followed by a space, followed by the characters, you can do the "splitting" this way:
Figure 1. The first step of the Convert Text to Columns Wizard.
Word splits the entries into two columns, with the numbers in the leftmost column and the alphabetic characters in the right. You can then any regular math functions on the numeric values that you desire.
If it is not feasible to separate the data into columns (perhaps your company doesn't allow such a division, or it may cause problems with those later using the worksheet), then you can approach the problem in a couple of other ways.
First, you could use the following formula on individual cells:
=VALUE(LEFT(A3,LEN(A3)-2))
The LEFT function is used to strip off the two rightmost characters (the space and the letter) of whatever is in cell A3, and then the VALUE function converts the result to a number. You can then use this result as you would any other numeric value.
If you want to simply sum the column containing your entries, you could use an array formula. Enter the following in a cell:
=SUM(VALUE(LEFT(A3:A21,LEN(A3:A21)-2)))
Make sure you actually enter the formula by pressing Shift+Ctrl+Enter. Because this is an array formula, the LEFT and VALUE functions are applied to each cell in the range A3:A21 individually, and then summed using the SUM function.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3185) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Using a Numeric Portion of a Cell in a Formula.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
Your chosen occupation may require that you work with linear distances in feet and inches. Excel can do this, to a ...
Discover MoreYou can use the naming capabilities of Excel to name both ranges and formulas. Accessing that named information in a ...
Discover MoreYou can easily set up a formula to perform some calculation on a range of cells. When you copy that formula, the copied ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2016-02-03 16:25:33
Tom Angelillo
Thanks! IT worked like a charm using VALUE
2015-08-30 23:42:09
Pete Menhennet
You can shorten the formula even more to
{=SUM(--LEFT(A3:A21,LEN(A3:A21)-2))}
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2021 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments