How to Use Text Functions in Excel

Text Functions in Excel

Text Functions

In my experience, I find that many of my clients do not realize that Excel has many powerful – and easy to use – Text Functions.

Even more amazing, I observe clients spending hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars “re-keying” or “manually editing” text entries that have been downloaded from a Main Frame Computer. If you – or your colleagues – have been doing this, you will want to watch this Excel Video Tutorial.

Categories of Text Functions in Excel

In this Excel video lesson, I demonstrate how to use three categories of Text Functions:

  1. Transform Text – Use the UPPER, lower and Proper functions to change the “Case” of a text string.
  2. Join Text – Use either the CONCATENATE() Function or the & (Ampersand) Operator to join two or more text strings into a single text string.
  3. Clean-up Text – Use the LEN(), TRIM() and CLEAN() Text Functions to “trim the fat” from text strings – especially those that you download from a Main Frame Computer.

Once again, in my experience, I have too many clients contacting me in a panic because they get a REF# error when using Text Functions. I demonstrate how to recover from a “seeming disaster” and also how to use COPY – PASTE SPECIAL – VALUES to transform Formulas into Constant Values.

I welcome your feedback. Please send me an email: danny@thecompanyrocks.com – to let me know if this tip helped you to save time and money. I also welcome your suggestions for future Excel Video Lessons to create and post here, on my website.

Watch This Excel Video Tutorial in High Definition Mode

Follow this link to view this Excel Video Lesson in High Defintion Mode on my YouTube Channel – DannyRocksExcels

Download the Excel Workbook

Follow this link to download the Excel Workbook I use in this lesson.

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My Favorite Excel Keyboard Shortcut

I use Keyboard Shortcuts in Excel everyday. However, the one that I count on the most; The one that has saved me from near disaster on multiple occasions is:

Ctrl + Z – The UNDO Command.

Ctrl + Z can Undo my last 16 actions (one at-a-time.) In Excel 2007, you can Undo up to 100 of your last actions!

Watch this short Excel Training Video as I demonstrate how to take advantage of the Ctrl + Z Shortcut.

Here are the steps to follow in this lesson:

  1. Type an entry or apply formatting to a cell or range of cells.
  2. Hold down the “Ctrl” Key while you press the “Z” key. Excel will Undo your last action.
  3. To Restore the Action that you just UNDID, use the “Ctrl + Y+ Keyboard Shortcut.
  4. You can Undo your last 16 actions in Excel 2003. Use the drop-down menu next to the UNDO Command Button on the Standard Toolbar.
  5. Follow a similar  procedure to RESTORE up to your last 16 actions in Excel 2003 with the drop-down menu next to the Restore Command button on the Standard Toolbar.
  6. In Excel 2007, you can UNDO and RESTORE up to your last 100 Actions!

Are you looking for Excel Video Training for a specific topic? Search my Index of Excel Video Topics.

Related Videos:

NEW! Now you can practice your Excel Skills – Download the Excel Workbooks that I use in my video lessons

Keyboard Shortcuts – Part 1

Here are the steps to follow in this lesson:

  1. All shortcuts in this lesson require you to hold down the “CTRL” key while you press a single Letter.
  2. Ctrl+A will select either all of the cells in the current worksheet or just the range of cells where you are working.
  3. Ctrl+B (Bold), Ctrl+I (Italic) and Ctrl+U (Underline) will “toggle” the formatting on or off.
  4. Ctrl+D (Fill Down) and Ctrl+R (Fill Right) require you to select a range of cells beforehand.
  5. The “Office Clipboard” allows you to retain 24 items in memory. You can use them in all of the applications across the MS Office Suite. (Ctrl+F1 brings up the Task Pane for the Clipboard)
  6. Ctrl+Z (Undo) and Ctrl+Y (Redo) apply to the last 16 actions (provided you have not “saved” the workbook.)

Find the video lesson that you want – Index to all Excel Topics

News! My DVD, “The 50 Best Tips for Excel 2007” is now available to purchase. I invite you to visit my online bookstore for more details.