The ASAP Utilities menu in Excel (English)
Remove First X Characters...
ASAP Utilities › Text › 19. Remove First X Characters...This tool removes a specified number of characters from the beginning of the selected cells. It's useful when cleaning up imported data and quickly removing fixed prefixes, codes, or extra characters from values such as product IDs, invoice numbers, or department codes. It works with both text and numbers.
Formulas are replaced with their calculated values before processing.
Cells that contain dates are skipped. Examples where you specified to remove the first X characters:
Screenshots
Example screenshot: Delete leading characters
Practical tricks on how this can help you
Practical 'real world' examples on our blog that show you how this tool can help you in Excel. Enjoy!Starting this tool
- Click ASAP Utilities › Text › 19. Remove First X Characters...
- Specify a Keyboard Shortcut: ASAP Utilities › My Tools & Shortcuts › Manage My Tools & Shortcuts...
Additional keywords for this tool:
Remove leading characters, Truncate beginning of cell, Delete first characters, Remove prefix, Cut characters from start of cell, Trim first few characters, Remove fixed text prefix, Remove characters from left, Remove first X characters, Remove string start, Remove text from beginning of cell, Truncate string, Delete start of text, Remove label or code prefix
Remove leading characters, Truncate beginning of cell, Delete first characters, Remove prefix, Cut characters from start of cell, Trim first few characters, Remove fixed text prefix, Remove characters from left, Remove first X characters, Remove string start, Remove text from beginning of cell, Truncate string, Delete start of text, Remove label or code prefix
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| Remove Trailing Line Breaks (e.g., Alt+Enter) |
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🏆 Winner of the "Best Microsoft Excel Add-in" Award at the Global Excel Summit 2025 in London!
For over 25 years, ASAP Utilities has helped users worldwide save time and do what Excel alone cannot.
🏆 Winner of the "Best Microsoft Excel Add-in" Award at the Global Excel Summit 2025 in London!
For over 25 years, ASAP Utilities has helped users worldwide save time and do what Excel alone cannot.