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 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...
If want to extract the name part of an email address, you can do so with a formula that uses the LEFT and FIND functions. In the generic form above, email represents the email address you are working with.
In the...
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:...
Note: Excel contains many built-in "presets" for highlighting values with conditional formatting, including a preset to highlight cells that contain specific text. However, if you want more flexibility, you can use your...
To extract a word that contains specific text,you can use a formula based on several functions, including TRIM, LEFT, SUBSTITUTE, MID, MAX, and REPT. You can use this formula to extract things like email addresses, or...
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(...
If you have a list of things (words, substrings, etc) and want to find out which of these things appear in a cell, you can build a simple table and use a formula based on the SEARCH function.
Setup
Suppose you have a...
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. The final result will look...
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...
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 get the position of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. instance of a specific character inside a text string, you can use the FIND and SUBSTITUTE functions.
In the example shown, the formula in E4 is:
=FIND("~",...
To sum if cells contain either one text string or another (i.e. contain "cat" or "rat") you can use the SUMPRODUCT function.
Background
When you sum cells with "OR" criteria, you need to be careful not to double count...
If you want to get the sheet name only (i.e. the sheet name without the file name or path) you can do so with rather long formula that uses the MID function along with the FIND function. The final result will look...
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...
To extract the first name from a full name in "Last, First" format, you can use a formula that uses RIGHT, LEN and FIND functions. In the generic form of the formula (above), name is a full name in this format:
LAST,...
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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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