LEFT Function
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The Excel Left function returns a specified number of characters from the start of a supplied text string.
The syntax of the function is:
LEFT( text, [num_chars] )
Where the function arguments are:
| text | - | The original text string |
| [num_chars] | - |
An optional argument that specifies the number of characters to be returned from the start of the supplied text If omitted, the [num_chars] argument takes on the default value of 1 |
Note that the Left function always returns a text string, even though this may be contain digits and may look like a number. This may be important if you wish to use the result of the function within further functions or formulas.
Left Function Examples
The spreadsheet below shows three examples of the Excel Left function.
The format of the functions are shown in the spreadsheet on the left and the results are shown in the spreadsheet on the right.
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A | B | |
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A | B | C |
| 1 | Original Text | =LEFT(A1) | 1 | Original Text | O |
|
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| 2 | Original Text | =LEFT(A2,4) | 2 | Original Text | Orig | ||
| 3 | 5 years | =LEFT(A3,1) | 3 | 5 years | 5 |
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Note that the example in cell B3 returns the text value "5". Although the text string contains a number, this is stored as a text string in Excel.
Further information and examples of the Excel Left function are provided on the Microsoft Office website.