To extract the names from:
H2 = CLEAR EPOXY PRIME-EE00155-A
H3 = STOCKADE-FN22615-T
Enter this formula in I2:
=LEFT(H2,FIND("-",H2)-1)
To extract the serial numbers:
Enter this formula in J2:
=SUBSTITUTE(MID(H2,FIND("-",H2)+1,255),"-","")
Select both I2 and J2 and copy down as needed.

Signature
Biff
Microsoft Excel MVP
> Thanks Pete for your prompt response
>
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>> >
>> > John
John Calder - 27 Jul 2007 04:00 GMT
Biff
Your formulas worked great !
Only thing is that they are used in helper colums for a pivot table.
The data is in columns A through to J and is 500 rows deep
Columns A to E are links to another spreadsheet and column F to J are
formulas used in the helper columns.
The problem I am now having is that when I try to create the pivot table
using this data I get the following error message
******************************************************************
"Microsoft Excel cannot make this change because there are too many row or
column items. Drag at least one row or column field off the pivot table, or
to the page position. Alternatively, right click a field, and then click Hide
or Hide Levels on the shortcut menu."
******************************************************************
The pivot table has only one entry in the Page area, five entries in the row
area and one entry in the data area.
Could you tell me if the pivot table cannot accept more than four entries in
the row area?
Thanks for your help
John
> To extract the names from:
>
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> >> >
> >> > John