Have you ever found yourself grappling with the daunting task of organizing comma-separated values into neat columns in Google Sheets? Don’t worry, my friend! Today, I’m going to let you in on a little secret – a powerful formula that will take your spreadsheet game to new heights!
The Problem and the Solution
Picture this: you have a category in one cell and a list of items associated with that category in another cell, all separated by pesky commas. You dream of having those values automatically split into individual columns, neatly arranged under their respective categories. Well, guess what? Your dream can become a reality!
The Magic Formula
Behold, the formula that will work wonders for you:
=Query(ArrayFormula(TRIM(split(transpose(split(textjoin("^",1,if(len(B1:B),REGEXREPLACE(B1:B&",",","^"&A1:A&","),)),",")),"^"))),"Select Col2,Col1")I know, I know, the formula might look a bit intimidating at first glance. But fear not! Allow me to break it down, step by step.
Step 1: Replace Comma Delimiter with Categories using Regexreplace
In this first step, we’ll replace those commas in the text with caret signs and categories, using the REGEXREPLACE function. This modified string will serve as our reference for the rest of the formula.
=REGEXREPLACE(B1&",",",","^"&A1&",")
Step 2: Join the Values as a Single Row using Textjoin
Next, we’ll utilize the TEXTJOIN function to concatenate all the values in column B into a single row, with caret signs as the delimiter.
=ArrayFormula(textjoin("^",1,if(len(B1:B),REGEXREPLACE(B1:B&",",","^"&A1:A&","),)))Step 3: Split and Transpose Values Based on Comma Delimiter
Now, we’ll split that single row into multiple rows using the comma delimiter, and then transpose the output to display it as a column.
=ArrayFormula(transpose(split(textjoin("^",1,if(len(B1:B),REGEXREPLACE(B1:B&",",","^"&A1:A&","),)),",")))Step 4: Separate Categories and Values using Split and Trim
In this step, we’ll split the transposed column using caret signs as the delimiter. This will separate the categories and associated values into two separate columns. We’ll also use the TRIM function to remove any extra spaces in the values.
=ArrayFormula(TRIM(split(transpose(split(textjoin("^",1,if(len(B1:B),REGEXREPLACE(B1:B&",",","^"&A1:A&","),)),",")),"^")))Step 5: Re-Order the Column Position using Query
And now for the finishing touch! We’ll use the QUERY function to re-order the columns, ensuring that the categories appear before the values.
And voila! You’ve successfully split your comma-separated values into columns and categorized them in Google Sheets.
Additional Resources
If you’re hungry for more spreadsheet knowledge, check out these related resources:
- Split Number to Digits in Google Sheets
- How to Split Text to Columns or Rows in Google Sheets by Delimiter
- Replace Multiple Comma Separated Values in Google Sheets
- How to Count Comma Separated Words in a Cell in Google Sheets
- Sum, Count, Cumulative Sum Comma Separated Values in Google Sheets
- Extract Unique Values from a Comma Separated List in Google Sheets
Remember, armed with the power of Google Sheets formulas, you can conquer any data manipulation challenge. Happy spreadsheeting!
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