Calc LEFT function

For a full list of available calculation functions, please read What calculation functions are supported.

This article describes the formula syntax and usage of the LEFT function.

Description

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

Syntax

LEFT(text, [num_chars])

• text - Required. The text string that contains the characters you want to extract.
• num_chars - Optional. 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.

Example

Formula	Description	Result
=LEFT({variable}, 5)	First 5 characters of the variable (assuming the text represented is"Sales price")	Sales
=LEFT(Sales price)	First character of the string	S

Errors

For a full list of formula errors, please read Formula errors.

Related functions

• Calc CHAR function
• Calc CLEAN function
• Calc CODE function
• Calc CONCAT function
• Calc DETECTLANGUAGE function