Troubleshooting Line Break Errors Caused by Ctrl+Enter in Google Sheets

In Google Sheets, Ctrl+Enter adds line breaks, causing formulas like LEFT and SPLIT to misbehave with multi-line text.
Data Parsing Error
Data Parsing Error

In Google Sheets, you might run into problems or issues when you have multiple lines of text within a single cell. This often happen if you press Ctrl+Enter while editing a cell, which inserts a line break.

Here provided below formula not working with the problem and result is the same as problem.

=RIGHT(A3, 5)

=LEFT(A3,4)

=JOIN("",SPLIT(A3, " "))

String Manipulation error
String Manipulation error

Some formulas, like LEFT, RIGHT, or SPLIT may fail or produce unexpected results due to the hidden line break character. For example, if you use LEFT to get the first few characters, it may only return the characters from the cell in same manner as line brake. Similarly, SPLIT may divide the text into more pieces than you want because of the line breaks.

=LEFT(A3,4)

=RIGHT(A3, 5)

Turbleshooting line brake errors
Turbleshooting line brake errors
Data Parsing Error - Google Sheets - Google Chrome
Data Parsing Error – Google Sheets – Google Chrome

SPLIT function is also not working or result in same manner as LEFT or RIGHT function as above.

=SPLIT(A3, " ")

Data Parsing Error - Google Sheets
Data Parsing Error – Google Sheets

These hidden line breaks can lead to issues with how your text appears and can create extra spaces or formatting problems. To avoid these issues, you can use alternative formulas that handle multi-line text better or clean up your data to remove line breaks. Being aware of this can help your formulas work correctly and make it easier to manage your text data.

To manage and resolve issues caused by multiple lines of text within a single cell in Google Sheets, you can use a few techniques. Here’s we provide a simplified guide to solve the above problems.

Use both LEFT, RIGHT function with ampersand (&)

=LEFT(A3, 10) & RIGHT(A3, 1)

Google Sheets Data Parsing Error
Google Sheets Data Parsing Error solve with LEFT and RIGHT function

Use the CLEAN function

=CLEAN(A3)

Data Parsing Error in google sheets
Data Parsing Error in google sheets

SUBSTITUTE function provide the exact solution

=SUBSTITUTE(A3, " ", "")

Data Parsing Error Ctrl+Enter
Data Parsing Error Ctrl+Enter

SUBSTITUTE with CHAR function uses for Data Parsing Error

=SUBSTITUTE(A3,CHAR(10),"")

Data Parsing Error
Data Parsing Error

By using these above techniques, you can effectively manage text with line breaks in Google Sheets, ensuring your formulas work as expected and your data appears correctly.

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For any questions or assistance regarding the Data Parsing Error in Google Sheets, feel free to reach out in the comments. The CountLen team is dedicated to providing prompt and effective solutions, ensuring that all your queries are addressed swiftly. If you come across any inaccuracies or misleading information, don’t hesitate to share your feedback in the comments. We’re here to help you make the most of your data!

CountLen Team
CountLen Team

CountLen Team is known for making complex topics accessible. Aiming to bridge the Excel and Google Sheets knowledge gap.

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