Left & Concatenation

Another function that will come into play is the function left.  This function basically picks up information beginning on the left side of the cell.  There is a counterpart to this function called the right function.

Skill Builder:  Using the Left Function 

1.	Click 	In the Cell where you want the left function to appear.

2.	Type	The Function.  In this case the function is 
		
		=left(cell address of the cell you want to look in, the 
		number of characters you wish to pick up)

		For instance, if you want to pick up 5 characters from 
		the left of cell A2, you will use the function
		=left(A2,5)

3.  	Press	Enter.  When you press enter the first five characters 
		of the designated cell will appear.

Concatenation in the strict sense is not a function.  This ‘function’ will put multiple entries side by side within a cell.

Skill Builder:  Concatenating Data

1.	Click	Within the Cell where you would like your concatenated 
		information to appear.

2.	Type	The Formula.  In this example, the formula will be     
		
		=cell address& “”&cell address

	For example, if you wanted to concatenate the 
		information in cells C2 and D2 (including a space 
		between the information), you would use the following:
		=C2&””&D2

3.	Hit	Enter.  When you hit Enter, Excel will concatenate the 
		information in the specified cells.