How to use the Excel PROPER function

Summary

The Excel PROPER function capitalizes words given text string. Numbers and punctuation are not affected.

Purpose

Capitalize the first letter in each word

Return value

Text in proper case.

Syntax

=PROPER (text)

Arguments

text - The text that should be converted to proper case.

Usage notes

Use PROPER to capitalize each word in a given string.
All letters in text will be converted to lower case before the first letter in each word is capitalized.
Numbers and punctuation characters are not affected.

Related functions

Excel UPPER Function

The Excel UPPER function returns a upper-case version of a given text string. Numbers and punctuation are not affected.

Excel LOWER Function

The Excel LOWER function returns a lower-case version of a given text string. Numbers and punctuation are not affected.

Excel EXACT Function

The Excel EXACT function compares two text strings, taking into account upper and lower case characters, and returns TRUE if they are the same, and FALSE if not. EXACT is case-sensitive.

Excel Formula Training

Formulas are the key to getting things done in Excel. In this accelerated training, you'll learn how to use formulas to manipulate text, work with dates and times, lookup values with VLOOKUP and INDEX & MATCH, count and sum with criteria, dynamically rank values, and create dynamic ranges. You'll also learn how to troubleshoot, trace errors, and fix problems. Instant access. See details here.