How to Change Text Case in Excel and Google Sheets

Spreadsheets often contain inconsistent text: names in capitals, product titles in lowercase, emails with stray capitals. Both Excel and Google Sheets have built-in functions to fix this.

The three core functions

Step-by-step

1. Insert an empty helper column next to your data.
2. Enter the formula in the first row, for example =PROPER(A2).
3. Fill the formula down the column.
4. Copy the helper column.
5. Paste as values over the original column (Excel: Paste Special > Values; Sheets: Ctrl+Shift+V).
6. Delete the helper column.

Sentence case in a spreadsheet

There is no built-in sentence case function, but this formula works for text that is a single sentence:

=UPPER(LEFT(A2,1)) & LOWER(MID(A2,2,LEN(A2)))

For multi-sentence text, paste the column into the case converter, choose Sentence case and paste it back. Each row stays on its own line.

Watch out for PROPER

PROPER capitalizes the letter after every non-letter character, so "o'brien" becomes "O'Brien" (good) but "mcdonald" becomes "Mcdonald" and "it's" becomes "It'S" in some cases. Check names with apostrophes and prefixes afterwards.

Clean extra spaces too

Combine case functions with TRIM() to remove extra spaces, for example =PROPER(TRIM(A2)). Clean, consistent text makes sorting, matching and mail merges far more reliable.

Frequently asked questions

How to change case in Excel?

How to change case in Excel: use the Excel UPPER function (=UPPER(A2)), the Excel LOWER function (=LOWER(A2)) or the PROPER function (=PROPER(A2)) in a helper column, then paste the results as values. These upper and lower functions are the fastest way to standardize text case.

How to capitalize the first letter in Excel?

How to capitalize the first letter in Excel: =UPPER(LEFT(A2,1))&LOWER(MID(A2,2,LEN(A2))). This sentence case formula in Excel capitalizes only the first letter. Use PROPER to capitalize each word.

How to change text case in Google Sheets?

To change text case in Google Sheets, use the same formulas: UPPER, LOWER and the Google Sheets PROPER function. Combine them with TRIM: =PROPER(TRIM(A2)). Trim and PROPER in Excel works the same way and is the standard way to clean names in Excel.