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The ability to remove the first two digits from a cell in Excel is an important feature that can be used to make data easier to read and analyze. It is especially useful when dealing with large numbers such as telephone numbers or account numbers. By removing the first two digits, it is easier to compare and sort data, as well as spot any outliers. Removing the first two digits also makes it easier to create charts and graphs from the data. This can be especially beneficial when creating reports or presentations. By eliminating the leading two digits, the data can be more easily understood by those unfamiliar with the data. Removing the first two digits can also be helpful when dealing with data from different countries or regions, where the leading digits may represent the country or region code. Knowing how to remove the first two digits from a cell in Excel is an important skill for any data analyst, as it can provide greater clarity to data and help make reports and presentations more impactful.
Often you may want to remove the first 2 digits from a cell in Excel.
You can use the RIGHT function combined with the LEN function to do so:
=RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-2)
This particular formula removes the first 2 digits from cell A2.
For example, if cell A2 contains AA4506 then this formula would return just 4506.
The following example shows how to use this formula in practice.
Example: Remove First 2 Digits from Cell in Excel
Suppose we have the following list of employee ID’s in Excel:
Suppose we would like to remove the first two digits from each employee ID.
We can type the following formula into cell B2 to do so:
=RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-2)
We can then click and drag this formula down to each remaining cell in column B:
Column B now displays the employee ID’s in column A with the first two digits removed from each employee ID.
How This Formula Works
The RIGHT() function in Excel extracts a specific number of characters from the right side of a string.
Thus, our formula tells Excel to extract the amount of characters equal to the length of the string minus two characters.
Thus, our formula displays the entire string with the first two digits removed.
Note: Blank spaces at the start of a string count as characters. You may need to first remove blank spaces to get your desired result.
In conclusion, the RIGHT function combined with the LEN function can be used to remove the first two digits from a cell in Excel. This example showed how to use this formula in practice by removing the first two digits from a list of employee ID’s. This formula works by extracting a specific number of characters from the right side of a string. Blank spaces at the start of a string count as characters, so these may need to be removed first to get the desired result.