Change Text Case in Excel
There is no case button in Excel and no Shift+F3 either, so every route on this page runs through a second column. Getting the result back over the original is the actual work; the function is the easy part. Which function to reach for is decided by what the text holds rather than by the casing wanted. Ordinary words are safe. Names and acronyms are not, because PROPER lower-cases everything after the first letter of a word and after every non-letter character, so McDonald comes back as Mcdonald, IBM as Ibm and 3rd as 3Rd — for those, demonstrate the casing once and let Flash Fill copy it.
The formula
=UPPER(A2) ALL CAPS
=LOWER(A2) all lowercase
=PROPER(A2) Title Case — first letter of every word
=UPPER(LEFT(A2,1))&LOWER(MID(A2,2,LEN(A2))) sentence case; Excel has no built-in function for itA worked example
A2:A50 holds names captured in all caps by a web form: "MCDONALD", "OBRIEN", "IBM SUPPLIES LTD".
=PROPER(A2) in B2, filled down to B50
"Mcdonald", "Obrien" and "Ibm Supplies Ltd". PROPER lowercases everything after the first letter of each word, so an internal capital is lost and an acronym is destroyed. On a name list, correct the affected rows by hand afterwards, or skip PROPER entirely and use Flash Fill, which copies the casing from an example you typed correctly.
Which one do I need?
| If you want to… | Use |
|---|---|
| Everything should become capitals | =UPPER(A2) in a helper column, filled down |
| Everything should become lowercase | =LOWER(A2) — the fix for text pasted in from an all-caps export |
| Ordinary words that should read as Title Case | =PROPER(A2) — safe for street names and product descriptions |
| Names with internal capitals, or acronyms like IBM and NASA | Do not use PROPER — it flattens them. Demonstrate the correct casing once and press Ctrl+E |
| Sentence case: only the very first letter capitalized | =UPPER(LEFT(A2,1))&LOWER(MID(A2,2,LEN(A2))) — there is no SENTENCECASE function to reach for |
| You want the original column changed, not a second one | Build the helper column, copy it, Paste Special > Values onto the original, then delete the helper — a formula cannot rewrite the cell it reads from |
| You're hunting for the keyboard shortcut | Excel has none. Shift+F3 changes case in Word but opens Insert Function in Excel; Flash Fill (Ctrl+E) is the closest thing to a shortcut |
Frequently asked questions
Is there a shortcut to change case in Excel?
No. Shift+F3 cycles case in Word, but in Excel that same key opens the Insert Function dialog. The nearest equivalent is Flash Fill: type one cell in the casing you want and press Ctrl+E to apply the pattern down the column.
Why does PROPER get names like McDonald wrong?
PROPER capitalizes the first letter of a string and any letter that follows a non-letter character, then lowercases everything else. "McDonald" has no non-letter before the D, so it becomes "Mcdonald". The same rule turns "don't" into "Don'T" and "3rd" into "3Rd", because both have a non-letter in the middle.
How do I change case without using a formula?
Use Flash Fill. Type the first value the way you want it in the column immediately to the right, then press Ctrl+E — Excel infers the casing pattern and fills the rest as static text. This is also the better option for names, where PROPER produces wrong results.
How do I replace the original text with the converted version?
A formula cannot overwrite the cell it reads from, so convert in a helper column, copy that column, then use Paste Special > Values (Ctrl+Alt+V, then V) onto the original range. Delete the helper column afterwards — the values that remain are plain text.
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