Extract usernames from E-mail IDs [using LEFT and FIND formulas in Excel]

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Extract usernames from E-mail IDs [using LEFT and FIND formulas in Excel]Today we will learn to use Excel’s LEFT and FIND formulas. But what fun it is to learn a new formula on a Tuesday?

So, we will actually learn to use these formulas to solve the problem: “extract the username from an email ID”

How is an email ID structured?

Any email ID contains 2 parts – user name and domain name.

For eg. in my email id – chandoo.d@gmail.com – chandoo.d is user name and gmail.com is domain.

So how do we get the user name out?

As you can see, username always starts at left and goes up to the symbol “@”. So, If we write a formula to fetch all the characters up to “@” symbol, it will get us the user name.

This is where LEFT() and FIND() formulas enter the scene.

What does Excel LEFT formula do?

Excel LEFT formula will let you cut a portion of text from left. For eg. =LEFT("Long",2) will give you Lo. (syntax and examples)

So, to get the email username, we need to get all the letters in the left of email ID up to the location of “@” symbol. And how do we find the position of a symbol in a text?

We use FIND formula.

FIND formula gives the location of one text in another. For eg. =FIND("do", "chandoo") will give us 5 (the location of “do” in “chandoo”).

FIND will throw an error (#VALUE!) if the text you are trying to find is not available. For eg. =FIND("peace", "world") will throw #VALUE!

(syntax and examples)

Armed with these 2 formulas, now let us get that user name out of email ID

Assuming cell A1 has the email id, the formula for getting user name is =LEFT(A1,FIND("@",A1)-1)

We have to use -1 as find actually tells the position of “@” and we need all the letters up to “@”, but not “@”.

This is how it works:

Extract usernames from E-mail IDs - demo

Your homework:

  • How would you extract the domain out of email ID? (Hint: there is a right formula for everything)

Use comments to write your answers. Don’t cheat.

Learn more excel formulas:

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27 Responses to “9 Box grid for talent mapping – HR for Excel – Template & Explanation”

  1. Robert Clark says:

    Great stuff! I can understand how to add a slicer to the pivot table, but how do you implement the departmental selector on the 'Filter' formula scheme?

  2. Claus Andersen says:

    Just saw this on your Youtube channel, and it’s areat idea...!

    An easy way to overcome the "ugliness" of pivot tables and get it to look nice (in the format of the Output sheet), would be to simply build a sheet with the nice map at the top, a pivot underneath it and a slicer next to formatted map and then reference each of the 9 cells in the formatted map to the “related” cell in the Pivot.

    Keep up the good work!

    /Claus

  3. Madison Fry says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    This is great! Curious how to make additional columns operate the same as the Department column (ex. have a "manager column") that would allow you to sort a 9 box by manager, area, or team in addition to department?

    Feel free to email me if needed! mfry01@minnetronixmedical.com

    Happy New Year

    Madison Fry

    • Ed says:

      I am curious about the smae thing. I would like to populate the 9 box with other views as well by adding additional columns. IE., I would like to add location, region, etc. Thank you.

  4. Matt says:

    This is great, thank you!

  5. Al says:

    How can i see the whole data set of all the teams in the output table. Need a formula that will pick up all the employees

  6. Heather says:

    Hello,
    Love the template. Thank you. Question - the drop down to pick a department on the Output tab does not seem to work on the downloadable template. Am I doing something incorrectly?
    Thank you!

    • Chandoo says:

      Hi Heather... Thank you. I am using Excel 365 to make the calculations. If you are using an older version of Excel, then the drop-down filter won't work.

  7. Rose says:

    Hi
    I was able to follow your 9 box grid and modified based my needs. However, you tutorial did not show how to you create the filter for the "Pick a department. Can you kindly share how to create that filter that updated the grid. Thank you.

  8. Rose says:

    I am working on this project but I am struggling with the data validation for the department. I copy the worksheets data entry and output as the managers want to see different tabs for each managers.
    I updated the source reference for each tab but It does not update the grid based on the new source. The list was updated but it does not populate the grid based on the performance and potential listed.
    In addition the hyperlink Update Data and View Talent Map no longer works. Can you please help me.

  9. Emmanuel Jose Vasquez says:

    I keep getting this error message in the pivot table:

    This formula is invalid or incomplete: 'The expression is not valid or appears to be incomplete. Please review and correct the expression.
    The following syntax error occurred during parsing: Invalid token, Line 1, Offset 14, ‘.

  10. Hi, I used your 9-box excel template with excel 365. First off, thank you so very much. It is incredibly helpful!! My only question is that the boxes aren't big enough for all of the employees (specifically the middle which we call 'Core Employee'). Is there a way to make the boxes larger? Even though it is in excel, I am not able to increase row height (like I normally do in a speadsheet). Any ideas? Thanks again, Jody

  11. Prish says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    Thanks for the great content. Re. 9 box grid, pls advise how do I increase the size of the box to accommodate more names?

  12. Nabil says:

    Merci Chandoo pour le modèle proposé,
    j'ai une question et un souhait est il possible de développer davantage ce modèle en insérant la photo de chaque employé.

  13. Leah says:

    Hi Chandoo!

    Great tutorial and tool, thank you! Your tutorial didn't include how to create additional filters on the "Output" tab. Could you please share how you did it?

  14. Geno says:

    Can this be done exactly in google sheets?

  15. Joanne says:

    Hi Chandoo,
    Thanks for the video it was really helpful. Is there any way to multi select the dropdown to display multiple or all departments rather than just one at once?

  16. Dana says:

    Hello Prish

    I have Microsoft 365 and I am struggling to make the boxes larger/unable to increase row height; any idea how you made this work? Specifically in the Output tab where the map is?

    Many thanks

  17. Dana says:

    Hello Jody, I have Microsoft 365 and I am struggling to make the boxes larger/unable to increase row height; any idea how you made this work? Specifically in the Output tab where the map is? Many thanks

  18. Connie Richards says:

    Is there a way to change the 9 box wording descriptions, i.e. Work Horses, to our own internal langauge?

  19. Zee says:

    Hi Chandoo, this is awesome and has worked perfectly. Due to a big organisation the 9 box grid on the output file is too small. I tried adjusting using the row/width ribbon under the format ribbon however it doesn't seem to work. Is there an easier way to adjust this?

    Thanks!

  20. Huy Nghi?a says:

    When I drag the formula, it doesn't work, and the order I use with the data changes. In the beginning, the order is it is " candidates," " potential," and " performance," but when it goes to another column, it is " Potential," Performance," and "Candidates."Can you help me? Thank you very much, sending love from vietnam

  21. Lucia says:

    Hi- I am working on the 9 grid project and I am trying to expand the box since I have over 100 names on a few of the columns. How do I do that?

  22. Zara says:

    Hi, Thank you this is great stuff and really useful.

    As well as department as demonstrated on your clip, how can I display all candidates on the grid at once?

    Many thanks in advance

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