How to Remove Parentheses in Excel

If you are an Excel user, you may have encountered situations where you need to remove parentheses from your data. Whether it’s a range of cells, a single cell, or a specific text string, Excel provides different methods to accomplish this task. In this article, we will explore some handy techniques to remove parentheses in Excel.

1. Using Find and Replace

The most straightforward way to remove parentheses is by using Excel’s Find and Replace feature. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Select the range of cells or the specific cell where you want to remove parentheses.
2. Press Ctrl + H on your keyboard to open the Find and Replace dialog box.
3. In the “Find what” field, input the open parenthesis symbol “(“.
4. Leave the “Replace with” field blank.
5. Click on the Replace All button.
6. Excel will remove all the parentheses from your selected range or cell.

2. Using the SUBSTITUTE Function

If you prefer a formula-based approach, Excel’s SUBSTITUTE function can come in handy. This function replaces specific text within a given text string. Here’s how to use it:

1. In an empty cell, enter the formula =SUBSTITUTE(A1, "(", ""), assuming the text you want to remove parentheses from is in cell A1.
2. Press Enter to apply the formula.
3. The cell will display the text without the parentheses.
4. To apply the formula to multiple cells, drag the fill handle to copy it accordingly.

3. Using the MID and LEN Functions

If you want to extract the text within the parentheses rather than removing them, you can use a combination of Excel’s MID and LEN functions. Here’s an example:

1. In an empty cell, enter the formula =MID(A1,2,LEN(A1)-2), assuming the text with parentheses is in cell A1.
2. Press Enter to apply the formula.
3. The cell will display the text without the parentheses.
4. To apply the formula to multiple cells, drag the fill handle to copy it accordingly.

These are some of the methods you can employ to remove parentheses or extract text within parentheses in Excel. Applying them can save you time and help you clean up your data effectively.