Spreadsheet cleaning, explained
Practical, people-first how-tos for the messy-spreadsheet problems you actually get stuck on — each shows the native Excel method done right, then hands you into the exact tool, pre-set for your file.
Split an Excel Sheet Into Multiple Files Based on a Column Value
Split one Excel sheet into a separate file (or worksheet tab) for each value in a column — by hand with filters, with a PivotTable's Show Report Filter Pages, with Power Query, or in one step with TidyCell. A worked Region example, the native methods done right, and the safety pitfalls.
Opens Split SheetsConvert Numbers Stored as Text to Real Numbers in Excel
Numbers stored as text won't sum, sort, or feed a formula. Here's how to spot them, why Excel does it, the five native fixes ranked by what each one silently breaks — and how TidyCell converts a whole column in one step while keeping the look, your formulas, and everything it can't read.
Opens Numbers & CurrencyVLOOKUP Not Working? Why You Get #N/A — and How to See the Real Reason
#N/A is the same answer whether your ID has a trailing space, a hidden character, or genuinely isn't in the other list — and a formula can't tell you which. Here's every real cause of a failed VLOOKUP, the native fixes ranked by what each one hides, and how to see the actual reason for every row that won't match.
Opens Bring Columns OverSplit One Excel Column Into Multiple Columns — even Without a Delimiter
Text to Columns needs a delimiter, and half the columns people actually need to split don't have one — SKU-A1042BLK, 12kg, TX20240315MC881907A. Here's every native way to split a column in Excel, exactly where each one gives up, and how to teach a split by marking it once on a single cell.
Opens Column ParsingCompare Two Lists in Excel: What's Missing, What's New, and What Changed
COUNTIF tells you what's missing. Conditional formatting tells you what's shared. Neither tells you which matched rows have different numbers, and nothing tells you what's in their list but not yours. Here's how to answer all four questions about two lists at once — and why the reverse question is usually where the money is.
Opens Compare Two ListsMore guides on the way
We publish a new guide as each one is written — currency-as-text, remove duplicates, standardize dates and more. Each will slot straight into this grid.
Every guide is a small how-to that hands you straight into the right tool. Fewer tools, many entry points.