Category: Text Functions

RIGHT – Excel Function

What it does: The RIGHT() Function removes a string from the right side of a given piece of text according to parameters you set.

Plain English: The RIGHT() Function is for removing the right part of a string.

Imagine we have a list of sales data, including the date on which the sales were made. Each date is formatted like 01/20/2015. If that date is in cell A2, the formula RIGHT(A2,4) would yield “2015” and we just removed the year from our date. We can then apply the formula to the rest of our data

Arguments: RIGHT(text,no. of characters)

  • Text – The text you want to pull a string from
  • No. of characters – How many characters do you want to remove from the right?

Blog Posts using RIGHT()

  • Blog Post 1

Videos using RIGHT()

  • Video 1

LEFT – Excel Function

What it does: The LEFT() Function removes a string from the left side of a given piece of text according to parameters you set.

Plain English: The LEFT() Function is for removing the left part of a string. Imagine we had a list of emails like Ashley.Doe@example.com, and all we really need is the first name from the email. If that email was in cell A2, then LEFT(A2,6) would yield “Ashley”. (Are you wondering what to do if every first name is a different length? Check out the FIND() article and combine the two)

Arguments: LEFT(text,no. of characters)

  • Text – The text you want to pull a string from
  • No. of characters – How many characters from the left?

Blog Posts using LEFT()

  • Blog Post 1

Videos using LEFT()

  • Video 1

MID – Excel Function

What it does: The MID() Function returns a specific part of a larger text string, subject to the arguments you provide.

Plain English: The MID() function is a close cousin of the LEFT() and RIGHT() functions. Instead of focusing specifically on the LEFT or RIGHT of a piece of text, you’re pulling from the middle of text string.

Arguments: MID(text, start number, number of characters)

  • Text – The text you want to pull a string from
  • Start number – Where you want to start in the string
  • Number of Characters – How many characters do you want to pull from the text string (starting at the start number)?

Blog Posts using MID()

  • Blog Post 1

Videos using MID()

  • Video 1