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UPPER, LOWER and PROPER in Excel: Change Text Case

Excel has no "Change Case" button like Word, but three simple functions do the job: UPPER for capitals, LOWER for lowercase and PROPER for capitalizing the first letter of every word.

Excel CSE · 2 min read
In this guide
  1. Syntax and examples
  2. When to use which
  3. Where PROPER goes wrong
  4. Only the first letter
  5. Replace the original
  6. FAQ

Syntax and examples

FunctionExampleResult
UPPER=UPPER("anna jansen")ANNA JANSEN
LOWER=LOWER("Anna@Example.COM")anna@example.com
PROPER=PROPER("aNNA jANSEN")Anna Jansen

Each function takes one argument: the text or the cell. Numbers and punctuation are left alone.

When to use which

  • LOWER for email addresses and usernames, so duplicates and lookups match.
  • UPPER for codes, postal codes and country codes: "nl" becomes "NL".
  • PROPER for names and cities typed inconsistently.

Where PROPER goes wrong

PROPER capitalizes the first letter after every space or punctuation mark, which isn't always right:

  • =PROPER("van den berg") returns "Van Den Berg", while you may want "van den Berg".
  • =PROPER("mcdonald") returns "Mcdonald", not "McDonald".
  • =PROPER("o'neil") returns "O'Neil" (correct), but =PROPER("it's") returns "It'S".

Check the result for names with prefixes and apostrophes, and fix exceptions by hand or with SUBSTITUTE.

Capitalize only the first letter of a sentence

=UPPER(LEFT(A2, 1)) & LOWER(MID(A2, 2, 1000))

"THIS IS A NOTE" becomes "This is a note". See LEFT, RIGHT and MID.

Replace the original text

  1. Put =PROPER(A2) in a helper column and copy it down.
  2. Copy the helper column and use Paste Special › Values over the original.
  3. Delete the helper column.

For a one-off change, Flash Fill (Ctrl+E) also works: type the first name in the right case and let Excel fill the rest.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a shortcut to change case in Excel?

No, unlike Word (Shift+F3). Use UPPER, LOWER or PROPER, or Flash Fill.

Do UPPER and LOWER affect comparisons?

Most Excel comparisons, lookups and COUNTIF are already case-insensitive. Changing case is mainly about consistency and appearance, and about matching in case-sensitive functions like EXACT and FIND.

How do I check if text is all capitals?

Use =EXACT(A2, UPPER(A2)). It returns TRUE if the text is already all uppercase.