Split text to columns in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This data shows a list of full names in column A that we want to split into first and last names.

Cell	Value
A1	Full Name
A2	John Doe
A3	Jane Smith
A4	Alice Johnson

Formula Trace

=SPLIT(A2, " ")

Step 1: A2

Step 2: SPLIT("John Doe", " ")

Cell Reference Map

    A           B       C
1 | Full Name |         |       
2 | John Doe  | John    | Doe   
3 | Jane Smith|         |       
4 | Alice Johnson|       |       

The formula in cell B2 references A2. The SPLIT function uses the space character as the delimiter to separate the full name into first and last names.

Result

    A             B       C
1 | Full Name    | First  | Last  
2 | John Doe     | John   | Doe   
3 | Jane Smith   | Jane   | Smith 
4 | Alice Johnson| Alice  | Johnson

After applying the SPLIT formula in column B, the full names in column A are split into first names in column B and last names in column C.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the SPLIT function do with the text 'John Doe' when using space as the delimiter?

A It joins the text into one word.

B It divides the text into 'John' and 'Doe'.

C It removes all spaces and returns 'JohnDoe'.

D It returns only the first word 'John'.

Key Result

SPLIT(text, delimiter) divides text into parts wherever the delimiter appears.