Select the column with the names you want to separate.
Click Data and select Text to Columns.
Select your Delimiters such as commas or spaces.
A preview will appear on the screen.
Click Apply.
The names will automatically separate into the selected column and the one next to it.
If there are no empty columns, Excel will warn you that it will replace the text in the column to the right. Therefore, it’s best to make sure you have an empty column next to the list of names to avoid losing any data.
Before you create a Pivot Table in Excel, it’s important to ensure that your spreadsheet doesn’t have any formatting issues that could interfere with the automated process. Check for any empty columns or rows, and make sure all dates are formatted consistently (avoid mixing formats like “4/15” and “April 15” in the same row or column). These steps apply to Excel in Windows, macOS, and on the web.
Open the spreadsheet you want to use as your data source, and manually select all the rows and columns you want to include in your Pivot Table.
Click on the “Insert” tab, and then select “Pivot Table.”
If you want to add or change the source data, click on the “Source” text box. You can either type the range of tables or columns into the box or manually select them on the grid. Press “Enter” when you are done.
Decide whether to add the Pivot Table to an existing worksheet or a new one. If you choose an existing worksheet, you will also need to select the cell where you want the new table to appear.
Click “OK” when you have finished.
To delete unwanted or unnecessary Pivot Tables, simply select the Pivot Table range and delete it. Alternatively, if the Pivot Table was saved as a separate document, you can delete the document instead.
If you can’t see the Developer tab in Excel, don’t worry. It’s not visible by default. However, depending on whether you share the software with others or not, you may not need to enable it. But if you find that the Developer tab is missing, follow these steps:
If you are using Windows, click on File in the top menu and select Options from the drop-down menu.
Choose Customize Ribbon and locate the Main Tabs section.
Check the box next to Developer to turn on the Developer tab.
If you are using macOS, click on Excel in the top menu and select Preferences from the drop-down menu.
Choose Ribbon & Toolbar and find the Main Tabs section. Look for the Customize the Ribbon category.
Check the box next to Developer to enable the Developer tab, and then click Save.
Make sure the Developer tab is now visible on the ribbon. If it is, you’re all set to start creating and running your macros. Keep in mind that the Developer tab will remain visible on the ribbon unless you either disable it in the Options menu or reinstall Excel.
When you merge cells in Excel or Google Sheets, it’s important to understand what actually happens. The merge cells function combines the cells themselves, not their contents. Although spreadsheet programs can perform mathematical operations using formulas, merging cells is not a shortcut for this purpose.
If you merge two cells that contain content, only the content of the leftmost cell will be preserved in the resulting merged cell. The contents of any other merged cells will be deleted. You can’t merge cells to combine numbers or words. If you want a larger cell to contain the combined contents, you must first copy and paste the contents from the component cells into the lead cell before merging them; otherwise, you will lose all the content.
Microsoft Excel has been one of the go-to spreadsheet apps for several decades, and it’s developed an array of tricks throughout its lifetime, not just for making data entry, editing, and organization easier (though it does that, too) but to give users more ways to better protect the information they’re spreadsheet-ing. This includes adding password protection to your Excel files.
Whether you’re working with extremely sensitive or privileged data, trying to keep contact details out of the wrong hands, or just don’t want anyone else to be able to access your spreadsheets without your express permission, setting up a password for your work is a relative breeze.
The only caveat is you’re on your own if you lose or forget the password. Excel doesn’t have the capacity to retrieve password information, and there’s no “forgot password” option for you to try and replace it with a new one. So if you decide to protect any of your Excel files with one, be sure it’s something you won’t forget or find another way to keep track of it. Once a password has been set up, you must enter it every time you open the protected file.
Password protecting an Excel document
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When you choose to add password protection to an Excel document makes little difference — you can make a new one and immediately set up a password or revisit existing documents to add protection well after their creation. This process is the same for both Windows and macOS.
With the Excel file open select File in the top-left corner of the screen, followed by Info.
Select Protect Workbook, then choose Encrypt with Password.
Enter the password you want to use, then select OK.
Re-enter the password to confirm and select OK.
Alternatively, select the Review tab along the top of the document and then choose Protect Workbook (to protect all the worksheets in your current workbook) or Protect Sheet (to protect just one sheet).
Type in the password you want to use and select OK, then re-enter the password when prompted and select OK again to confirm.
You’ll know that your worksheet (or workbook) is protected if the Protect Sheet (or Protect Workbook) icon in the Review tab is highlighted.
Removing password protections from an Excel document
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If you decide it’s no longer necessary to protect your Excel spreadsheets with a password, you can remove it, though you will need to re-enter the password you’ve assigned to it first, so make sure you don’t lose or forget it before removing the restriction.
Open the document you want to remove password protection from (you’ll need to enter the password to do so).
Select the Review tab at the top of the page.
For an individual spreadsheet, select Protect Sheet followed by Unprotect Sheet to remove password protections.
For a workbook composed of multiple spreadsheets, select Protect Workbook followed by Unprotect Workbook.
Enter the Workbook password again when prompted and select OK to remove protections.
Remember that, with password protections removed, anyone with access to your Excel file can open, view, and edit it. If you’ve decided a password isn’t necessary anymore, this likely isn’t an issue.
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