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How do you split Excel data into one file per customer, region or month on a Mac?

By Kayabyte · Last updated 31 October 2026

To split a sheet by the values in a column (one file per region, customer or month) on a Mac, filter the column, copy the visible rows into a new workbook, and repeat for each value; or use a pivot table’s report filter pages to make one sheet per value and then move those sheets into their own files. We found no one-click command for this in Excel for Mac (checked 1 November 2026); people usually write a macro. Gridhand’s Split tool does it for every value in one run. This guide is about one file per value in a column; to split a workbook per worksheet or every N rows, see split by sheet or row count.

Method 1: filter and copy

  1. Select the header row and choose Data, Filter.
  2. Open the filter arrow on your column and tick one value.
  3. Select the visible rows, copy, and paste into a new workbook. Save it with the value in the name.
  4. Clear the filter or pick the next value and repeat.

Fine for 3 values, tedious for 40.

Method 2: pivot table report filter pages

  1. Make a PivotTable from your data and put the column in Filters, and any field in Rows or Values.
  2. In PivotTable Analyze, Options, choose Show Report Filter Pages (if your version offers it). Excel makes one sheet per value.
  3. Move each sheet into its own workbook with Move or Copy, or save the workbook and delete the sheets you do not need.

Those sheets contain pivot tables, not your original rows, so this suits summaries more than data hand-offs.

Method 3: a macro

The common macro loops over the unique values, filters, copies and saves each subset as a workbook. Many versions online are written for Windows and may need changes for Mac, so test on a copy.

With Gridhand

Gridhand Split has a mode “One file per value in a column”. Choose the sheet and the column; rows with the same value, ignoring case and extra spaces, go to the same file. Blank cells go to a “(blank)” file. The header rows are kept in every file, file names are made safe and unique, and a preview with a count of files comes first. A safety limit of 500 files stops a mistake, and you can raise it.

Formatting is kept at the file level: cell formatting, widths, merged cells, filters, validation and conditional formatting follow the rows. Tables become plain ranges, drawings and comments of rows that went elsewhere are dropped, and the report lists both. Your original is never modified.

Gridhand Split by column on a Mac: an orders sheet split into one file per Region value, with a preview of four files and their row counts

Steps with Gridhand

  1. Drop the workbook into Gridhand and choose Split.
  2. Choose “One file per value in a column”, then the sheet and the column.
  3. Check the preview (the number of files and their names), choose an output folder and press Run.

Split counts as 1 file per run, so it fits the free limit; Gridhand Pro is USD 49 once. Download Gridhand

Questions

Are “North” and “north” treated as the same value? Yes. Values are compared ignoring case and extra spaces.

What happens to empty cells in the column? Those rows go to a file named “(blank)”.

How many files can it make? Up to 500 by default, as a guard against a column that holds hundreds of unique values. You can raise the limit.

Can I split a workbook with several sheets? The by-column mode works on one sheet you choose. To split a workbook by sheet, see split an Excel sheet into separate files.

Microsoft and Excel are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Gridhand is made by Kayabyte and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.