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Formula to move text to beginning of cell

  1. #1
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    Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Hi,
    I have a list of movie titles in a format that I need to change. I need to move titles that end with ", The" or ", A" to the beginning of the text. For example:

    "UNSPOKEN, THE"-> "THE UNSPOKEN"
    "CURE FOR WELLNESS, A"-> "A CURE FOR WELLNESS"

    Thanks.
    Last edited by yankeekid86; 10-26-2016 at 12:00 PM.

  2. #2
    Forum Guru Pete_UK's Avatar
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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    You can use a formula like this:

    =IF(RIGHT(A1,4)=" THE","THE "&LEFT(A1,LEN(A1)-5),IF(LEFT(A1,2)=" A","A "&LEFT(A1,LEN(A1)-3),A1))

    then copy down.

    Hope this helps.

    Pete

  3. #3
    Forum Moderator davesexcel's Avatar
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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Maybe this as well
    Formula: copy to clipboard
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    Ah, I believe your question was edited, since I 1st looked at it.

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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Or this
    Formula: copy to clipboard
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    v A B
    1 UNSPOKEN, THE THE UNSPOKEN
    2 CURE FOR WELLNESS, A A CURE FOR WELLNESS
    If you like my answer please click on * Add Reputation
    Don't forget to mark threads as "Solved" if your problem has been resolved

    "Nothing is so firmly believed as what we least know."
    --Michel de Montaigne

  5. #5
    Forum Guru Pete_UK's Avatar
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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Let's hope we don't have an entry like:

    Good, the Bad, the Ugly, The

    Pete

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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Thanks, Pete's formula didn't work titles with ", A"
    Al's formula gave me errors when the title didn't have ", A" or ", The"

  7. #7
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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Sorry, I put a LEFT when I meant a RIGHT - use this instead:

    =IF(RIGHT(A1,4)=" THE",RIGHT(A1,3)&" "&LEFT(A1,LEN(A1)-5),IF(RIGHT(A1,2)=" A","A "&LEFT(A1,LEN(A1)-3),A1))

    It will maintain the case of "The" at the end of the entry in A1.

    Hope this helps.

    Pete

  8. #8
    Forum Guru AlKey's Avatar
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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Quote Originally Posted by yankeekid86 View Post
    Thanks, Pete's formula didn't work titles with ", A"
    Al's formula gave me errors when the title didn't have ", A" or ", The"
    Comma is the only thing that could make any formula to work. If there is no comma present all formulas will fail. The reason why formula produced an error is due to inconsistency of your data.

  9. #9
    Forum Guru Pete_UK's Avatar
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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Quote Originally Posted by AlKey View Post
    ... due to inconsistency of your data.
    If there is a film title that doesn't contain a "The" or "A" at the beginning (like "2001 - A Space Odyssey"), then there won't be one at the end. You just have to test for it and if it is not there then return column A directly.

    Hope this helps.

    Pete

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    Forum Guru AlKey's Avatar
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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Try this
    Formula: copy to clipboard
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    Forum Guru Pete_UK's Avatar
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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Still doesn't work with multiple commas like:

    Good, the Bad, the Ugly, The

    It removes all commas.

    Pete

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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    How about finding the last comma in a string
    Formula: copy to clipboard
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    Oh Ya, I guess that could create other issues.

  13. #13
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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Try it with:

    I, Robot

    or:

    One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

    or:

    Pirates of the Caribbean

    Pete

  14. #14
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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Oh ya,
    How about an error trap?

    Please Login or Register  to view this content.
    Darn won't work for "I, robot."
    It was a dumb movie anyway

  15. #15
    Forum Guru Pete_UK's Avatar
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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Well, the OP's gone quiet, but the amended formula that I posted in #7 seems to cope with all the examples I've tried.

    Pete

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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Suppose we use a lookup table like this in D:F. The possible ", prefix"; len(prefix); replacemennts

    Then use this array formula.
    Formula: copy to clipboard
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    I haven't found a fail, yet. We could add more prefixes as they show up. Can't think of any more so far.


    A
    B
    C
    D
    E
    F
    1
    CURE FOR WELLNESS, THE
    THE CURE FOR WELLNESS
    , THE
    5
    THE
    2
    LION IN WINTER, A
    A LION IN WINTER
    , A
    3
    A
    3
    GET LOW
    GET LOW
    4
    GRADUATE, THE
    THE GRADUATE
    5
    GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY, THE
    THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY
    6
    I, ROBOT
    I, ROBOT
    7
    UNSPOKEN, THE
    THE UNSPOKEN
    8
    MATRIX, THE
    THE MATRIX
    9
    MONSTERS, INC.
    MONSTERS, INC.
    10
    SEVEN DEADLY SINS, THE
    THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
    Dave

  17. #17
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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Quote Originally Posted by Pete_UK View Post
    ..... the amended formula that I posted in #7 seems to cope with all the examples I've tried.

    Pete
    Yup! And lots simpler than mine.

  18. #18
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    Re: Formula to move text to beginning of cell

    Thanks guys, the formula in #7 worked! Saved me lots of time! Thanks again!

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