Hi, Sarah-
Here's one way: using your "Smith" example in a field that must be 40
characters long, enter the name Smith into cell A1. In cell B1 type
this formula:
=A1&REPT(" ",40-LEN(A1))

This formula determines the length of the name in A1, subtracts that
number from 40, then adds that number of spaces to the name in A1.

You can copy that formula and Paste As values to convert the results
into text.

Dave O