LEFT

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Name

Left

Description

Returns the first (or leftmost) characters from a text value.

Syntax

LEFT(MyText, Num_chars)

Remarks

Arguments are as follows:

Argument	Description
MyText	Text string that contains the characters you want to extract.
Num_chars	(Optional) Specifies how many characters you want to extract.

The MyText argument can be a string, a formula that returns a string, or a reference to a cell containing a string.

Note the following about the Num_chars argument:

• Num_chars must be greater than or equal to zero.
• If Num_chars is greater than the length of text, LEFT returns all text.
• If Num_chars is omitted, "1" is assumed.

See also CHAR, LOWER, MID, PROPER, RIGHT, and UPPER.

Data Type

Accepts string data for the MyText argument and numeric data for the Num_chars argument. Returns string data. For more information, see Data Type for Each Cell Type.

Example

LEFT(A2,LEN(A2)–1)
fpSpread1.Formula = "LEFT(""TotalPrice"")" equals "T"
fpSpread1.Formula = "LEFT(""Total Price"", 5)" equals "Total"