Excel FIND Function
Summary
The Excel FIND function returns the position (as a number) of one text string inside another. When the text is not found, FIND returns a #VALUE error.
Purpose
Get the location of text in a string
Return value
A number representing the location of find_text.
Syntax
=FIND (find_text, within_text, [start_num])
Arguments
- find_text - The text to find.
- within_text - The text to search within.
- start_num - [optional] The starting position in the text to search. Optional, defaults to 1.
Usage notes
- The FIND function will return the location of the first instance of find_text in within_text.
- The location is returned as the number of characters from the start of within_text.
- Start_num is optional and defaults to 1.
- FIND will return #VALUE if find_text is not found in within_text .
- FIND is case-sensitive and does not support wildcards.
- Use the SEARCH function to search without case-sensitivity and/or to use wildcards.
FIND formula examples
If want to extract the domain from an email address, you can do so with a formula that uses the RIGHT, LEN, and FIND functions. In the generic form above, email represents the email address you are working with.
In the...
Note: Excel contains many built-in "presets" for highlighting values with conditional formatting, including a preset to highlight cells that begin with specific text. However, if you want more flexibility, you can use...
If you want to extract the domain name from a complete URL, you can do so with a formula that uses the the LEFT and FIND functions. In the generic form above, url is the the URL you are working with.
In the example, we...
If you need extract the last name from a full name, you can do so with this rather complex formula that uses several functions. In the generic form of the formula (above), name is a full name, with a space separating...
To lookup the latest file version in a list, you can use a formula based on the LOOKUP function together with the ISNUMBER and FIND functions. In the example shown, the formula in cell G7 is:
=LOOKUP(2,1/(ISNUMBER(...
To find the nth occurence of a character in a text string, you can use a formula based on the FIND and SUBSTITUTE functions.
In the example shown, the formula in D5 is:
=FIND(CHAR(160),SUBSTITUTE(B5,"@",...
To highlight cells that contain one of many text strings, you can use a formula based on the functions ISNUMBER and SEARCH, together with the SUMPRODUCT function. In the example shown, the conditional formatting applied...
To convert a measurement in feet and inches to inches only (i.e. 4'5" to 53) you can use a formula based on several functions, including LEFT, FIND, MID, and SUBSTITUTE. In the example shown, the formula in D5 is:
=...
To test if a cell (or any text string) contains a number, you can use the FIND function together with the COUNT function. In the generic form of the formula (above), A1 represents the cell you are testing. The numbers...
To extract the last two words from a cell, you can use a formula built with several Excel functions, including MID, FIND, SUBSTITUTE, and LEN. In the example shown, the formula in C5 is:
=MID(B5,FIND("@",...
If you want to get the workbook path (directory) only, you can do so with a formula that uses the LEFT and the FIND function. The result will look something like this:
Drive:\path\to\file\ //Windows
Drive:path:to:...
To check if a cell contains specific text, you can use the SEARCH function together with the ISNUMBER function. In the generic version, substring is the specific text you are looking for, and text represents text in the...
To extract the top level domain (called "TLD") from a list of domain names or email addresses, you can use a rather complex formula that uses several functions. In the generic form of the formula (above), domain...
If you want to get the workbook name only (i.e. the file name without path or sheet name) you can do so with a rather long formula that uses the MID function along with the FIND function.
How the formula works
The cell...
To separate text and numbers, you can use a formula based on the FIND function, the MIN function, and the LEN function with the LEFT or RIGHT function, depending on whether you want to extract the text or the number. In...
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Some formulas you see in Excel can be extraordinarily complex. But all complex formulas are built from simple steps. In this video, we built a more complex formula step by step.
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