[Solved] How to move everything following a dash to a new column?

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You could try this for a input-file called input:

 csplit -f tempfile input '/-/+1' '{*}'; paste tempfile*

With csplit we generate one file for each “column” in the desired output (tempfile01, tempfile02, …).
Next, we merge these temporary files. With the given sample input, the output of the above command is:

jim sally   bill    jerry   
bob sue     -       curly   
-   ed              phil    
    -               -

It might be a good idea to add rm tempfile* to do the necessary cleanup.

csplit -f tempfile input '/-/+1' '{*}'; paste tempfile* > output; rm tempfile*

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solved How to move everything following a dash to a new column?