paste into a single column?

[joeloveszoe]

hi!
working on a mac
i am trying to past the file names (from finder) of several folders in a single column in excel
but the paste keeps breaking up some file names into multiple cells
i'm guessing its an easy fix - but i cant figure it out - help please?
see photos for examples of whats going on

thanks!

 

[Sergius]

Hello!
Try making the names follow the format "directory_filename".

 

[joeloveszoe]

thanks for the suggestion - i'm not sure what that means

 

[Sergius]

Look, you have files that consist of the directory name and the file name 5430042_001.jpg, or 5430050 001.jpg.
In the first case, everything will be in one column (5430042_001.jpg), in the other - it will be divided into two: in one, 5430050, in the second, 001.jpg
That is why I propose to bring the file names to this type 5430042_001.jpg

 

[Alex Blakenburg]

Can you try this:
• on an empty sheet - type something in to any cell in column A eg aaa (doesn't matter what just as long as the column is not empty)
• Go to Date > Text to Columns > Delimited
• Uncheck any delimiter boxes that are ticked (but in case we need it note which one was selected)
• Hit finish
Now clear or delete column A.

Try your copy paste again. Does it now put everything into column A?

 

[Kaper]

Selecting (before pasting) whole column and formatting it as text could also help