LEFT

Also applies to:

LEFTB

LEFT returns the first character or characters in a text string, based on the number of characters you specify.

LEFTB returns the first character or characters in a text string, based on the number of bytes you specify. This function is for use with double-byte characters.

Syntax

LEFT(text,num_chars)

LEFTB(text,num_bytes)

Text is the text string that contains the characters you want to extract.

Num_chars specifies the number of characters you want LEFT to extract.

Num_chars must be greater than or equal to zero.
If num_chars is greater than the length of text, LEFT returns all of text.
If num_chars is omitted, it is assumed to be 1.

Num_bytes specifies the number of characters you want LEFTB to extract, based on bytes.

Example (LEFT)

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.

Show How?

Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
Select the example in the Help topic. Do not select the row or column headers.

Selecting an example from Help
Press CTRL+C.
In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Tools menu, point to Formula Auditing, and then click Formula Auditing Mode.

1

2
3

A
Data
Sale Price
Sweden
Formula	Description (Result)
=LEFT(A2,4)	First four characters in the first string (Sale)
=LEFT(A3)	First character in the second string (S)

Example (LEFTB)

LEFTB(" ",4) equals ""