Split text into columns

If one column holds values that belong in several, such as Ada,Lovelace in a single cell, you can split them apart. Sheets cuts each cell at the separator you pick and writes the pieces across the row.

Split a column

1. Select the cells you want to split. Only the first column of the selection is split, so a selection that spans several columns still works on the leftmost one.
2. Open the Data menu and click Split text.
3. Under Delimiters, tick every separator your text uses: Tab, semicolon, comma, or space. For anything else, tick Other and type the character in the box beside it.
4. Tick Consecutive separators are treated as a single if two separators in a row should count as one. Without it, Ada,,Lovelace gives you an empty column in the middle.
5. Check the Preview table. It shows the split as you will get it, and updates as you change the delimiters.
6. Click OK.

The first piece of each cell replaces the value in the original cell. The rest land in the cells to its right, one per column.

If the text contains none of the separators you ticked, there is nothing to split and the sheet stays as it is.

What happens to the columns on the right

Sheets does not insert new columns for the pieces. It writes them into the cells that are already there, so anything in the way is replaced.

If those cells hold values, a Notice dialog appears first and asks: "There is already data here, do you want to replace it?" Click OK to go ahead, or Cancel to leave the sheet alone.