Text & Cleanup

Excel formula for Change text to proper/upper/lower case

Capitalize each word, or convert to all caps or lowercase, with one function.

Copy this formula

=PROPER(A2)

How the formula works

PROPER capitalizes the first letter of each word; UPPER makes everything uppercase; LOWER makes everything lowercase. They're ideal for cleaning inconsistent name and label capitalization.

Examples

=PROPER("john SMITH")→John Smith

Normalizes mixed-case names.

=UPPER("order 123-a")→ORDER 123-A

Digits and symbols are left unchanged.

=PROPER(TRIM(" mary ann lee "))→Mary Ann Lee

TRIM removes the extra spaces before PROPER fixes the case.

Other ways to do this

All uppercase

=UPPER(A2)

Converts everything to capitals.

All lowercase

=LOWER(A2)

Converts everything to lowercase.

FAQ

PROPER capitalizes 'Mcdonald' wrong — can I fix it?

PROPER can't know special casing. Fix exceptions with a nested SUBSTITUTE, e.g. =SUBSTITUTE(PROPER(A2), "Mcd", "McD").

Is there a keyboard shortcut to change case in Excel?

No. Unlike Word, Excel has no change-case shortcut, so use UPPER, LOWER or PROPER, or Flash Fill (Ctrl+E).

Why does PROPER capitalize the letter after an apostrophe?

PROPER capitalizes every letter that follows a non-letter character. Undo it with =SUBSTITUTE(PROPER(A2), "'S", "'s").

How do I replace the original text with the converted version?

Copy the formula cells, select the original cells and use Paste Special ▸ Values. Then delete the helper column.

Related formulas

Remove extra spaces from text Combine text from multiple cells

Functions used

PROPER UPPER LOWER

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