Find common starting string in all rows in column

Hi, I've attached an excel file with the example strings in it. Thanks!

Hello stranula,

Important when you put your examples that they are realistic.

Assuming that they are, it means that you already know where to find the common starting string. It is always the 19 first characters. Then you could do it like this...

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Or even more simple, with a formula somewhere on your sheet.

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Assuming that your examples are not realistic and that the common starting string could vary in length between datasets, then something like this could work (I am sure someone here could do it better, but it works )

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Let us know if this helped you or if you need something else.

Good luck!

Thanks MrChulo, my data contains confidential information and can range in length from 1 - 50 characters. The key is that for every dataset, it will be the same characters, and they need to be pulled out. The data is realistic, because every time, the data will be formatted similarly. If I had put two sets of names in the data, you would say it isn't realistic because I am only trying to pull out the starting characters from one list at a time.

Your code does exactly what I was looking for. Thank you very much, appreciate the assistance.