Here are a number of simple but useful functions for manipulating text in Microsoft Excel. One potential use of these functions is to separate last and first name when they are stored in a single cell. An example Excel file is also attached.
This formula will return the first five characters from the left in cell A2:
=LEFT(A2,5)
This formula will return the total number of characters (including spaces) in cell A2:
=LEN(A2)
This formula will return the number of characters (including spaces) from the left until the first space in cell A2:
=FIND(" ",A2)
To find first names where first name and last name are separated by a space:
=LEFT(A2,FIND(" ",A2)-1)
To find last Names where first name and last name are separated by a space:
=RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-FIND(" ",A2))