S No Function Name Purpose Return Value Syntax

A number representing FIND (find_text,

Get the location of text
1 FIND the location of within_text,
in a string
find_text. [start_num])

Extract text from the left One or more LEFT (text,

2 LEFT
of a string characters. [num_chars])

3 VALUE Convert text to a number A numeric value. VALUE (text)

Extract text from the One or more RIGHT (text,

5 RIGHT
right of a string characters. [num_chars])

LEN Get the length of text. Number of characters LEN (text)

 MID (text,
Extract text from inside a The characters
MID start_num,
string extracted.
num_chars)
 Arguments
find_text - The text to find.
within_text - The text to search
within.
start_num - [optional] The starting
position in the text to search.
Optional, defaults to 1.
text - The text from which to extract
characters.
num_chars - [optional] The number
of characters to extract, starting on
the left side of text. Default = 1.
text - Tthe text value to convert to a
number.
text - The text from which to extract
characters on the right.
num_chars - [optional] The number
of characters to extract, starting on
the right. Optional, default = 1.
text - The text for which to calculate as the number of characters.
length.
Summary
The Excel FIND function returns
the position (as a number) of
one text string inside another.
When the text is not found,
FIND returns a #VALUE error.
The Excel LEFT function extracts
a given number of characters
from the left side of a supplied
text string. For example,
LEFT("apple",3) returns "app".
The Excel VALUE function
converts text that appears in a
recognized format (i.e. a
number, date, or time format)
into a numeric value. Normally,
the VALUE function is not
needed in Excel, because Excel
automatically converts text to
numeric values.
The Excel RIGHT function
extracts a given number of
characters from the right side
of a supplied text string. For
example, RIGHT("apple",3)
returns "ple".
The Excel LEN function returns
the length of a given text string
LEN will also count characters
in numbers, but number
formatting is not included.
text - The text to extract from.
start_num - The location of the first
character to extract.
num_chars - The number of
characters to extract.
The Excel MID function extracts
a given number of characters
from the middle of a supplied
text string. For example,
=MID("apple",2,3) returns "ppl"
 Examples
The FIND function will return the location of
the first instance of find_text in within_text.
The location is returned as the number of
characters from the start of within_text.
Start_num is optional and defaults to 1.
FIND will return #VALUE if find_text is not TEXT TO COLUMNS CONVERSION USING DEMILIATOR
found in within_text .
FIND is case-sensitive and does not support
wildcards.
Use the SEARCH function to search without
case-sensitivity and/or to use wildcards.
Use the LEFT function when you want to
extract characters starting at the left side of
text.
num_chars is optional and defaults to 1.
USING AMPERSAND FOR CONCATING
LEFT will extract digits from numbers as well.
Number formatting (i.e. the currency symbol
$) is not part of a number so is not counted or
extracted.

Use the VALUE function to convert text to a

numeric value.
The VALUE function converts text that
appears in a recognized format (i.e. a number,
date, or time format) into a numeric value.
Normally, Excel automatically converts text to FLASH FILL FEATURE
numeric values as needed, so the VALUE
function is not needed.
Microsoft states that the VALUE function is
provided for compatibility with other
spreadsheet programs.

Use the RIGHT function when you want to

extract characters starting at the right side of
text.
num_chars is optional and defaults to 1.
RIGHT will extract digits from numbers as
well.
Number formatting is not part of a and will
not be extracted or counted.
LEN is a useful when you want to count how
many characters there are in some text.
Numbers and dates will also return a length.
Number formatting is not included. (i.e. the
length of "100" formatted as "$100.00" is still
3).
MID returns a specific number of characters
from a text string, starting at start_num and
continuing through start_num + num_chars.
Use the MID function when you want to
extract text from inside a text string, based on
location and length.
You can use FIND or SEARCH to locate
start_num when you don't know the location
in advance.
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