# 4.4.9 Split Columns

If you want to split a or multiple columns into multiple columns, you can use the Split Columns:colsplit tool.

To open the Split Columns tool, you can

• Select Worksheet: Split Columns with the workbook window activated.

or

• Run colsplit -d; in the Command Window.

This tool will split the specified columns by subgrouping. Here, we have three subgrouping methods:

• By Every Nth Row
Every Nth row will be considered as a group. For example, if N is 3, there would be 3 groups, the first group has the data from rows 1, 4, 7 ... 1 + 3 * M, the second group has the data from rows 2, 5, 8, ... 2 + 3 * M, and so on.
• By Sequential N Rows
The sequential N rows will be considered as a group. For example, if N is 5, the data from row 1 to row 5 will be the first group, from row 6 to 10 will be second group, and so on.
• By Reference Column
Specify a reference column to split the source column. You can split the source column according to the values in reference column:
• By Separator
You can specify a value(include <Blank or Missing> or <Text>) as separator to divide the source column into multiple column.
Once you have specified the Separator Value, you can decide how to handle the rows meet the conditions with the Rows Meet Condition option: 1) Remove the rows(Just like the one in the screenshot above shows); 2) Use the row as begin of the new block; 3) Use the row as end of the current block.
You can also decide whether to treat the consecutive rows(meet the separator condition) as one separator with the Treat Consecutive Rows as One check box.
• By Interval
You can specify the interval and start value to define multiple ranges in reference column to split the source column.
In this sample, the data points in the specified ranges(0.2~0.5, 0.5~0.8 and 0.8~1.1 and so on) have been picked up and stored in different subgroups. To specify the range, you just need set start value and interval.
You can sort the result subgroups by the values in the reference column by checking the Sort by Reference check box.