A clean data is our birthright, but sometimes we are not able to access it.
Sometimes, we are not able to use our data as the way we want.
And one of the biggest reasons which make our data unable to use is...
So if you want to use it we need to remove them all.
When you think about this, most of the time when you get data from ERP systems or you have some formulas which not written properly, you get those unwanted white spaces.
So, every time when you work on your data you need to verify it first.
And in today’s post, I’m going to show you exact 4 methods to remove all those unwanted and extra spaces.
Make sure to DOWNLOAD this SAMPLE FILE from here to follow along.
...now let's get started.
1. Remove Extra Spaces using TRIM Function [Trailing and Leading]
It happens sometimes that you get trailing and leading spaces in your data and it looks very nasty.
But we have a very simple and easy method to pull out this garbage out and you need only one function to deal with it.
That's TRIM.
It removes all unwanted spaces from a text string except the spaces between two words, look at the below example.
As you can see, we have used TRIM to remove all the unwanted trailing and leading spaces from the cell.
There are total 70 characters in the cell and when you have used TRIM, characters count is decreased to 41, that means it has deleted the 29 spaces from the cell.
2. Combine Clean and Trim to Remove Extra Space of Line Break
There is also another possibility that you’ll get a line break in a text string.
In this situation, you need to use combine CLEAN and TRIM where the CLEAN function can remove all non-printing character which includes a line break as well.
How it Works
First of all, CLEAN removes all non-printing characters from the text string and then TRIM removes all the unwanted spaces from text string other than space between two words.
3. Using Clean, Trim, and Substitute to Remove All the Spaces from a Cell
Here we have another type of issue with these white spaces.
It happens sometimes that we want to remove all type of spaces from a cell. But clean and trim both are not able to remove all type of spaces.
For example, if you have a non-breaking space in a cell, you will not able to deal with it using both of these functions.
And for this problem, you need to combine CLEAN and TRIM with SUBSTITUTE.
Let me show you an example.
In below example, we have a list of mobile numbers in a worksheet and these numbers are surrounded by some unwanted white spaces.
We only need 10 digit mobile number from it.
How it Works
SUBSTITUTE helps you to find a specific character or a set of characters from a text string and replace with some other characters or a single character.
4. Using Find and Replace Option to Remove All the Spaces
Wait a Minute!
I have another option to solve the above-mentioned problem and you don’t have to use a formula for that.
You can use FIND and REPLACE to replace white spaces from a cell, here are the steps:
- Select the cell or range of cells from which you want to remove white spaces.
- Use the shortcut key: Control + H to activate find and replace option.
- In “find what” input bar, insert a blank space using the space bar and “Replace With” should remain blank.
- Click on the replace all button, you’ll receive a pop-up message about how many blank spaces are replaced.
Alert: Use this method only when you are confirmed to remove all type of spaces from selected cells.
Sample File
Download this sample file from here to learn more.
Conclusion
Extra spaces are always irritating.
But now you have 4 different methods to remove them and you can choose any of these methods which you think is perfect for you.
I hope this will help you to play well with your data and now you need to tell me one thing.
Do you know another way to deal with this problem?
Please share with me in the comment box, I'd love to hear from you and don’t forget to share this tip with your friends.
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About the Author
Puneet is using Excel since his college days. He helped thousands of people to understand the power of the spreadsheets and learn Microsoft Excel. You can find him online, tweeting about Excel, on a running track, or sometimes hiking up a mountain.
I like the find and replace option the best. email me stuff I need to know in excel.
OMG, You make it so simple. This absolutely fixed my problem, thank you so much.
Hi Puneet,
Hope you are well.
I am a Project control Analyst in UK and I have just started visiting your website and have gone through the wildcard/vlookup lesson and now the space removing lesson.
I just want to say these are awesome lessons – so easy to understand and explained with examples.
Please keep making such great lessons as excel is a core in Finance.
Many thank you
Amana
I have two other ways to remove non-printable characters, both use VBA:
1) This goes cell by cell. So, it is best to select a specific range.
Sub DoTrim()
Dim LastRow As Long
Dim cell As Range, DataRange As Range
Dim Str As String
LastRow = Cells(Rows.Count, “G”).End(xlUp).Row
Set DataRange = Range(“A1:G” &LastRow)
‘Delete non-printable “control” characters: _
‘ 10=New Line, 12=Form Feed or Page Break, 13=Carriage Return, 32=Space & 160=Nonbreaking Space
For Each cell In Selection.Cells
If cell.HasFormula = False Then
Str = Left(cell.Value, 1)
While Str = ” ” Or Str = Chr(10) Or Str = Chr(12) Or Str = Chr(13) Or Str = Chr(32) Or Str = Chr(160)
cell.Value = Right(cell.Value, Len(cell.Value) – 1)
Str = Left(cell.Value, 1)
Wend
Str = Right(cell.Value, 1) ‘New Line
While Str = ” ” Or Str = Chr(10) Or Str = Chr(12) Or Str = Chr(13) Or Str = Chr(32) Or Str = Chr(160)
cell.Value = Left(cell.Value, Len(cell.Value) – 1)
Str = Right(cell.Value, 1)
Wend
End If
Next cell
End Sub
2) This using Find/Replace – this is faster
Sub DoTrim()
Dim LastRow As Long
Dim DataRange As Range
LastRow = Cells(Rows.Count, “I”).End(xlUp).Row
Set DataRange = Range(“A1:I” & LastRow)
‘Range(“A1″, ActiveCell.SpecialCells(xlLastCell)).Select
DataRange.Select
With Selection
‘CHR(10) is for a New Line
Selection.Replace What:=”” & Chr(10) & “”, Replacement:=””, LookAt:=xlPart, _
SearchOrder:=xlByRows, MatchCase:=False, SearchFormat:=False, _
ReplaceFormat:=False
‘CHR(12) is for a Form Feed a.k.a. Page Break
Selection.Replace What:=”” & Chr(12) & “”, Replacement:=””, LookAt:=xlPart, _
SearchOrder:=xlByRows, MatchCase:=False, SearchFormat:=False, _
ReplaceFormat:=False
‘CHR(13) is for a Carriage Return
Selection.Replace What:=”” & Chr(13) & “”, Replacement:=””, LookAt:=xlPart, _
SearchOrder:=xlByRows, MatchCase:=False, SearchFormat:=False, _
ReplaceFormat:=False
‘CHR(32) is for a Space
Selection.Replace What:=”” & Chr(32) & “”, Replacement:=””, LookAt:=xlPart, _
SearchOrder:=xlByRows, MatchCase:=False, SearchFormat:=False, _
ReplaceFormat:=False
‘CHR(160) is for a Nonbreaking Space
Selection.Replace What:=”” & Chr(160) & “”, Replacement:=””, LookAt:=xlPart, _
SearchOrder:=xlByRows, MatchCase:=False, SearchFormat:=False, _
ReplaceFormat:=False
Cells.Replace What:=” “, Replacement:=””, LookAt:=xlPart, SearchOrder:= _
xlByRows, MatchCase:=False, SearchFormat:=False, ReplaceFormat:=False
End With
End Sub
This is a way to remove unwanted extra spaces between words, like in
‘this example’
It will in three steps reduce spaces between words to only one.
1. Search and replace ‘ ‘ by ‘ |’
2. Search and replace ‘| ‘ by ”
3. Search and replace ‘ |’ by ‘ ‘
In tekst: Search and replace space by space pipe, then pipe space by nothing, then space pipe by space
Even when there are 100 spaces between the words, these three steps will reduce them to one.
Essential is that the pipe symbol is NOT used in the file. If you are uncertain about that, search for it before you start replacing or use a string you are most certain of that it does not exist in your file, like ‘xqzxqzxqz’ instead of the pipe symbol.
Thanks a lot Brother, great thing shared,
One more method is there to remove spaces.
ALT +D+E+W+N+F
Also note when it comes to N i.e next tab make sure that there is no split line or arrows and then click/press finish.
You did a good job by teaching us excel. Thanks Punnet.
You’re welcome.