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Free CSV tool

How to split a CSV column into several columns

A full name that should be two columns. A date packed into one field. An ID with a prefix you don't need. Columnwise's expression builder splits a column using a small whitelisted function set — no macros, no arbitrary code, nothing that can reach outside the row it's evaluating.

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Runs entirely in your browser — your file stays on your machine.

How it works

  1. Load your file. One CSV/TSV/XLSX is enough — splitting a column doesn't need a second file.
  2. Add a derive step (already set up if you arrived here from this page) and choose "create a new column."
  3. Write an expression using SPLIT, LEFT, RIGHT or MID — autocomplete suggests column names and functions as you type.
  4. Repeat for each part you want to extract (e.g. one derive step for first name, another for last name).
  5. Optionally drop the original column once you've derived what you need from it, right from the same step.

Worked example

Splitting "full_name" into first and last name

Given a full_name column like "Ada Lovelace":

SPLIT(full_name, " ", 1)   → "Ada"
SPLIT(full_name, " ", 2)   → "Lovelace"

SPLIT(text, delimiter, part) splits on a literal delimiter (not a regex, on purpose — predictable and safe) and returns the 1-indexed part you ask for. A part number past the end returns nothing rather than an error, so one oddly-formatted row won't block the whole column.

Fixed-width extraction works the same way — pulling a product code's first 3 characters:

LEFT(sku, 3)               → first 3 characters
RIGHT(sku, 4)              → last 4 characters
MID(sku, 5, 2)             → 2 characters starting at position 5

Your file never leaves your computer

The split runs entirely in your browser tab, read via the File API and transformed in memory. There's no macro or scripting language here that could reach outside the row it's evaluating, and no upload step — open your browser's Network tab while you use it and you won't see a single request carrying your file's contents (the only network activity you might see at all is a Google Analytics page-view ping, if you've accepted analytics — never your data). Same guarantee as every other free tool here.

Related tools

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No signup, no upload — the workspace opens with a derive step ready.

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