Split text to columns in Google Sheets - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Split text to columns

Goal

We want to separate full names into first and last names automatically. This helps us organize data better.

Sample Data

Full Name	Age
John Smith	28
Mary Johnson	34
Linda Lee	45
James Brown	22
Patricia Davis	31

Dashboard Components

• Original Data Table: Shows full names and ages as entered.
• First Name Column: Formula in C2: =INDEX(SPLIT(A2, " "), 1) extracts the first name from the split text.
• Last Name Column: Formula in D2: =INDEX(SPLIT(A2, " "), 2) extracts the last name from the split text.
• Age Column: Copied from original data for reference.

Formulas are dragged down from row 2 to row 6 to cover all data.

Dashboard Layout

+----------------+-----+------------+-----------+
| Full Name      | Age | First Name | Last Name |
+----------------+-----+------------+-----------+
| John Smith     | 28  | John       | Smith     |
| Mary Johnson   | 34  | Mary       | Johnson   |
| Linda Lee      | 45  | Linda      | Lee       |
| James Brown    | 22  | James      | Brown     |
| Patricia Davis | 31  | Patricia   | Davis     |
+----------------+-----+------------+-----------+

Interactivity

You can add a filter on the Age column to show only people above or below a certain age. When you filter, the First Name and Last Name columns update automatically because they depend on the Full Name column.

Self Check

Add a filter to show only rows where Age is greater than 30. Which first and last names remain visible?

Key Result

Split full names into first and last names using formulas in Google Sheets.