How to Extract Only Numbers from a Text (String) in Microsoft Excel - Office 365

Extracting only numbers from a text string in Microsoft Excel is an invaluable skill for data analysts, accountants, and anyone who needs to clean or manipulate data. This task is common when dealing with data that combines numbers with text, such as product codes, addresses, or any dataset where numbers are embedded within text strings.

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Introduction and Benefits

The ability to extract numbers from text in Excel offers several key benefits:

• Enhanced Data Analysis: By extracting numbers, you can perform numerical analysis on data that was previously in a text format, enabling more comprehensive insights.
• Improved Data Quality: This process helps clean your data, making it more uniform and easier to work with, which is crucial for accurate reporting and analysis.
• Increased Efficiency: Automating the extraction of numbers from text saves time and reduces the likelihood of manual errors, streamlining data processing tasks.

Step-by-Step Guide: Extracting Only Numbers from Text

Step 1: Identify Your Data

• Start by identifying the cell or range of cells containing the text strings from which you need to extract numbers. For instance, assume this data is in column A.

Step 2: Use a Formula to Extract Numbers

There is no direct built-in Excel function to extract only numbers from a text string, but you can use a combination of functions like MID, ISNUMBER, and SEARCH to accomplish this. A more straightforward approach, especially for those not comfortable with complex formulas, involves using an array formula or leveraging the TEXTJOIN and FILTER functions in newer Excel versions.

Step 3: Apply the Array Formula

• For Excel 2019 or earlier (Array Formula): Enter the following formula in the cell where you want the extracted numbers to appear. Assume you're extracting numbers from A1:=TEXTJOIN("", TRUE, IF(ISNUMBER(MID(A1, ROW(INDIRECT("1:"&LEN(A1))), 1)*1), MID(A1, ROW(INDIRECT("1:"&LEN(A1))), 1), ""))After typing the formula, press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to enter it as an array formula, which Excel indicates by surrounding the formula with curly braces {}.
• For Excel 2019 and later (Using TEXTJOIN and FILTER): If your Excel version supports dynamic arrays, you can avoid array formulas with:=TEXTJOIN("", TRUE, FILTER(MID(A1, SEQUENCE(LEN(A1)), 1), ISNUMBER(--MID(A1, SEQUENCE(LEN(A1)), 1))))Simply press Enter after typing this formula.

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Example

Suppose column A contains various text strings mixed with numbers:

A

1. Text123abc

2. 456def78

3. ghi910jk

You want to extract just the numbers from each string:

1. Identify Your Data: The mixed text strings are in column A.
2. Apply the Formula: Use one of the formulas provided above in cell B1 and drag down to apply it to other cells in the column.

After applying the formula, column B will display the extracted numbers:

B

1. 123

2. 45678

3. 910

Advanced Tips

1. Handling Large Datasets: For large datasets, consider using Excel's Power Query feature to transform and clean your data, which can handle complex data manipulation tasks more efficiently.
2. Regular Expressions: In complex scenarios requiring precise patterns (like extracting specific parts of a string), you might use VBA with regular expressions (Regex) to extract numbers.
3. Custom Functions: For repetitive tasks, creating a custom function in VBA tailored to your specific needs can automate the extraction process, making it more efficient and less error-prone.

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