About Text to Columns
Text to Columns divides a block of text on a delimiter and lays the pieces out as rows. Give it a comma-separated line and it returns one value per line; give it a table copied out of a spreadsheet and it turns each row into a column of cells. The sample that loads with the page is a short list of three fruit names, divided on a single comma.
The delimiter is matched literally, as a run of characters rather than as a pattern, so a two-character separator such as a double colon works and a backslash followed by a t looks for those two characters rather than for a tab. Each piece is trimmed of surrounding whitespace before it is written out, and the pieces are joined with newlines, which is what turns a delimiter inside one line into values running down a column.
Results appear when the calculate button is pressed rather than as the text is edited, and one delimiter is accepted per run, so data that mixes separators needs two passes. Clearing the delimiter field entirely produces a per-character divide, which is occasionally useful for inspecting a single string but is rarely what was intended. The output stays plain text throughout: no columns are aligned, no header row is added and nothing is exported as a spreadsheet file.
How to use Text to Columns
- 1 Paste the text into the first field, or keep the sample comma-separated list.
- 2 Set the delimiter field, which holds a single comma by default.
- 3 Press the calculate button to produce the divided values, one per line.
- 4 Copy the result into a spreadsheet or a text file, adding a header row yourself if you need one.
Frequently asked questions
Can I divide on more than one delimiter at once?
No. One separator string is accepted per run and it is matched literally rather than as a pattern, so data that mixes commas and semicolons has to be normalised first or handled in two passes.
How do I divide on a tab character?
Typing the two characters backslash and t makes the page look for exactly those characters. The delimiter is not interpreted as an escape sequence, so genuinely tab separated data may need a different route.
Why have my leading spaces disappeared?
Each piece is trimmed of surrounding whitespace before it is written out, so padding that carried meaning is removed. There is no setting to keep it and no way to switch the trimming off.
Can the result be opened as a spreadsheet?
The output is plain text with one value per line, so it can be saved and imported, but the page adds no header row, aligns nothing into columns and offers no spreadsheet file of its own.
Free, online, and private
Free to use
Text to Columns is completely free. There is no account to create, no login, and no hidden charge or usage limit.
Runs online in your browser
It is a free online tool that runs entirely in your browser. Nothing to download or install — open the page and start using it right away.
Your data stays private
All processing happens locally on your device. Your input is never uploaded, stored, or tracked, so it never leaves your browser.
How Text to Columns behaves in detail
These are the specifics of this implementation — the exact ranges, defaults and fixed settings you are working with.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Input | two fields - a text area whose sample is apple,banana,cherry and a delimiter field holding a single comma |
| Dividing | the text is divided at every occurrence of the delimiter, which is matched as plain characters rather than as a pattern |
| Trimming | each piece has whitespace removed from both ends before it is written out |
| Output | one piece per line, so the values come out as rows rather than as a single joined string |
| Empty delimiter | clearing the delimiter field divides the text into single characters, with each space becoming a blank line |
| Button | the result appears when the calculate button is pressed; the panel does not recalculate as you type |
Compiled from the implementation of this tool and checked against it by itoolnet.
What Text to Columns does not do
Knowing the edges of a tool saves more time than another list of its features. These are the cases where it will not do what you might expect.
- One separator at a time. Data that mixes commas and semicolons has to be handled in two passes, and because the delimiter is not a pattern there is no way to divide on any of several characters at once or on a run of them.
- Whitespace inside a field is destroyed. Every piece is trimmed before it is written out, so padding that carried meaning - an indented value, or a column aligned with spaces - is lost and cannot be preserved by any setting on the page.
- The output is a plain list of values. There is no column alignment, no header row, no table rendering and no export as a spreadsheet file, and the pieces are placed in a single column, so the original row structure is not rebuilt.
Tested and documented by itoolnet, the team that builds and maintains this site.