Split text into two separate strings

You have a single text field with content like "First part / Second part" and need to split it into two separate formula fields. Here's how to do it with Airtable formulas.

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Basic split by forward slash

If your text looks like "This is the first part / This is the second part":

First field (everything before the "/"):

LEFT({Text}, FIND("/", {Text}) - 2)

Second field (everything after the "/"):

RIGHT({Text}, LEN({Text}) - FIND("/", {Text}) - 1)

How it works

• FIND("/", {Text}) locates the position of the "/" character in your text
• LEFT() extracts characters from the start up to (position - 2) to exclude the "/" and the space before it
• RIGHT() extracts from the end, calculating the start position after the "/" and space

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Split by other delimiters

Split by comma

First field:

LEFT({Text}, FIND(",", {Text}) - 1)

Second field:

RIGHT({Text}, LEN({Text}) - FIND(",", {Text}) - 1)

Split by pipe character

First field:

LEFT({Text}, FIND("|", {Text}) - 1)

Second field:

RIGHT({Text}, LEN({Text}) - FIND("|", {Text}) - 1)

Split by dash or hyphen

First field:

LEFT({Text}, FIND("-", {Text}) - 1)

Second field:

RIGHT({Text}, LEN({Text}) - FIND("-", {Text}) - 1)

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Handle missing delimiters

If the delimiter might not exist in some records, wrap the formula in an IF() statement to avoid errors:

First field (with fallback):

IF(
  FIND("/", {Text}),
  LEFT({Text}, FIND("/", {Text}) - 2),
  {Text}
)

Second field (with fallback):

IF(
  FIND("/", {Text}),
  RIGHT({Text}, LEN({Text}) - FIND("/", {Text}) - 1),
  ""
)

This ensures:

• If the delimiter exists, the text is split correctly
• If no delimiter is found, the first field shows the original text and the second field is empty

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Trim whitespace

If your delimiter might have inconsistent spacing, use TRIM() to clean up the results:

First field:

TRIM(LEFT({Text}, FIND("/", {Text}) - 2))

Second field:

TRIM(RIGHT({Text}, LEN({Text}) - FIND("/", {Text}) - 1))

TRIM() removes leading and trailing spaces from the extracted text.

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Split by first space

To split a full name into first and last name (assuming single space):

First name:

IF({Full Name}, LEFT({Full Name}, FIND(" ", {Full Name}) - 1))

Last name:

IF({Full Name}, RIGHT({Full Name}, LEN({Full Name}) - FIND(" ", {Full Name})))

Note: This assumes exactly one space. For names with middle names or multiple spaces, you'll need a more complex approach.

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Adjusting for spacing

The offset in the LEFT() and RIGHT() formulas depends on how your delimiter is spaced:

• FIND("/", {Text}) - 2 removes the "/" and one space before it (for " / ")
• FIND("/", {Text}) - 1 removes only the "/" (for "/" with no space)
• FIND("/", {Text}) keeps the "/" in the result (not recommended)

Always test with your actual data to get the spacing right.

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Common use cases

Split "City, State"

City field:

LEFT({Location}, FIND(",", {Location}) - 1)

State field:

TRIM(RIGHT({Location}, LEN({Location}) - FIND(",", {Location})))

Split "Name - Description"

Name field:

TRIM(LEFT({Text}, FIND("-", {Text}) - 1))

Description field:

TRIM(RIGHT({Text}, LEN({Text}) - FIND("-", {Text}) - 1))

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Tips and best practices

Always check for the delimiter

Use IF(FIND(...)) to avoid errors when the delimiter doesn't exist:

IF(FIND("/", {Text}), LEFT({Text}, FIND("/", {Text}) - 2), {Text})

Use TRIM for cleanup

Always wrap extracted values in TRIM() to handle inconsistent spacing:

TRIM(LEFT({Text}, FIND("/", {Text}) - 2))

Test with edge cases

Before deploying, test with:

• Empty strings
• Text without the delimiter
• Text with multiple delimiters (formula will use the first one)
• Text with leading/trailing spaces

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When formulas aren't enough

Formulas work great for splitting into 2 fields with a consistent delimiter. For more complex scenarios, consider:

• Scripts: When you need to split into multiple records or handle variable patterns
• External tools: Make, Zapier, or other automation tools for complex parsing
• Regex: Use REGEX_EXTRACT() for pattern-based extraction (available in Airtable formulas)

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Quick reference

Goal	Formula
Split by "/" (first part)	LEFT({Text}, FIND("/", {Text}) - 2)
Split by "/" (second part)	RIGHT({Text}, LEN({Text}) - FIND("/", {Text}) - 1)
Split with safety check	IF(FIND("/", {Text}), LEFT({Text}, FIND("/", {Text}) - 2), {Text})
Split and trim whitespace	TRIM(LEFT({Text}, FIND("/", {Text}) - 2))
Split by first space	LEFT({Text}, FIND(" ", {Text}) - 1)

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References

Community discussion with solutions for splitting strings: Formula to break a string of text onto 2 separate strings of text