Excel Formula for Extracting Text After Second Comma

Code Explanation

The provided code snippet is an Excel formula aimed at extracting and trimming a portion of a text string located in cell A2. Each part of this formula has a specific function that contributes to the overall goal. Below is a detailed breakdown of the formula and its components:

Formula

=TRIM(RIGHT(A2, LEN(A2) - FIND(",", A2, FIND(",", A2) + 2)))

Explanation

1. Inner FIND Function: FIND(",", A2) + 2

   • Purpose: To locate the position of the first comma (,) in the text string within A2 and then add 2 to this position.
   • Example: For the text string John, Doe, Developer, the first comma is at position 5. Adding 2 results in 7.

2. Outer FIND Function: FIND(",", A2, FIND(",", A2) + 2)

   • Purpose: To find the position of the second comma by starting the search just after the first comma plus 2. This ensures it skips any characters immediately following the first comma.
   • Example: For John, Doe, Developer, the second comma is at position 9.

3. LEN Function: LEN(A2)

   • Purpose: To determine the total length of the text string in A2.
   • Example: For John, Doe, Developer, the total length is 19.

4. RIGHT Function: RIGHT(A2, LEN(A2) - FIND(",", A2, FIND(",", A2) + 2))

   • Purpose: To extract a substring from the right side of A2, starting from the position calculated by subtracting the position of the second comma from the total length of the string.
   • Example: For John, Doe, Developer, this extracts Developer.

5. TRIM Function: TRIM(RIGHT(A2, LEN(A2) - FIND(",", A2, FIND(",", A2) + 2)))

   • Purpose: To remove any leading or trailing spaces from the extracted substring.
   • Example: Even though our string Developer has no extra spaces, if it did, TRIM would remove them.

Example Breakdown

Assume the cell A2 contains the string John, Doe, Developer.

1. Step 1: FIND(",", A2) gives 5.
2. Step 2: Adding 2 gives 7.
3. Step 3: FIND(",", A2, 7) gives 9.
4. Step 4: LEN(A2) is 19.
5. Step 5: 19 - 9 gives 10.
6. Step 6: RIGHT(A2, 10) extracts Developer.
7. Step 7: TRIM("Developer") results in Developer.

Summary

This formula effectively extracts the text that appears after the second comma in a cell and removes any extraneous spaces. The main steps involve finding the position of the second comma, determining the length of the substring to extract, and then using the TRIM function to clean up any spaces.

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