Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 28, 2018)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
George often has to work with data provided by other people. In working with this data he may need to convert a name, say Joe Bloggs, so that the last name is first, as in Bloggs, Joe. George understands that he can use a formula to do the name reversal, but he needs to do it in the same cell in which the name resides. He wonders if there is a built-in command that will perform this task.
No, there isn't a built-in command to do it. You can, however, create a macro that will do the switching for you. This macro could then be assigned to a shortcut key or placed on a toolbar so it can be easily accessed. Here's a simple macro that will do the switching:
Sub ReverseNames() Dim x As Integer Dim sCell As String Dim sLast As String Dim sFirst As String Dim rCell As Range For Each rCell In Selection sCell = rCell.Value x = InStr(sCell, " ") If x > 0 Then sFirst = Left(sCell, x - 1) sLast = Mid(sCell, x + 1) rCell.Value = sLast & ", " & sFirst End If Next Set rCell = Nothing End Sub
To use the macro, just select the range of cells you want to affect and then run it. The macro searches for a space within the cell and considers everything in front of the space to be the first name and everything after the space to be the last name. These two elements are reversed, a comma put between them, and stuffed back into the cell.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3812) 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: Reversing Names In Place.
Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!
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2018-07-28 14:02:34
Rick Rothstein
As long as the selected cells are contiguous, you can use this one-liner to produce the same results as this article's code does...
Sub ReverseNames()
Selection = Evaluate(Replace("IF(@="""","""",MID(@&"", ""&@,FIND("" "",@)+1,LEN(@)+1))", "@", Selection.Address))
End Sub
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