How to Use Excel String Functions

(Examples of 17 Functions)

Written byJoyanta Mitra

Last updated: Jun 17, 2024

Function 1 – TEXT Function

 Syntax:
=TEXT(value, format_text)

 Arguments Explanation:
ARGUMENT REQUIRED/OPTIONAL EXPLANATION

Value in a numeric form that has t

value Required
formatted.

format_text Required Specified number format.

 ReturnParameter:
A numeric value in a specified format.

 We see the use of the TEXT function.

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Function 2 – FIND Function

 Syntax:
=FIND(find_text, within_text, [start_num])

 Arguments Explanation:
ARGUMENT REQUIRED/OPTIONAL EXPLANATION

A text or a part of a text is to be searched for

find_text Required
cell containing another text string.

The cell containing the text where the defin

within_text Required
character or part of the text will be searched

Defined position in the text string from wher

[start_num] Optional
character count will be initiated.
  ReturnParameter:
A numerical value in an integer form that defines the position of the defined
character in a text string.

 We see the FIND function in action.

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Function 3 – CONCATENATE Function

 Syntax:
The syntax of the CONCATENATE function is:

=CONCATENATE(text1,[text2],...)
 Arguments:
The arguments can be in any format, e.g. text, number, cell reference, or an
array of values.

ARGUMENT REQUIRED/OPTIONAL VALUE

The first value to be joined. It can be any text value, numb

text1 Required
reference, or array of values.

The second value is to be joined. It can be any text value, n

[text2] Optional
cell reference, or array of values.

 Return Value:
Returns a joint text value combining all the arguments.

 We see the CONCATENATE function in action.

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Function 4 – MID Function

Syntax:

The syntax of the MID function is:

=MID(text,start_num,num_chars)

Argument:

ARGUMENT REQUIRED/OPTIONAL EXPLANATION

The string from which characters will be extracted. It ca

text Required
text value, number, or array.

The starting position from which characters will be extra

start_num Required
can be a single number or an array of numbers.

The total number of characters that will be extracted. It c

num_chars Required
single number or an array of numbers.
Note:
 The first argument text can be any text value, number, or array of text values or
numbers. But whether it is a text value or a number, the return value will always be
a text value.
 The next two arguments start_num and num_chars can be any number or an array of
numbers.
 If you use an array argument, the formula will be an Array Formula, and you have to
press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
Return Value:

Returns a text value consisting of a specific number of characters starting from

a specific position of a string.

Special Notes:
 If the start_num argument is greater than the total number of characters of a string,
the MID function will return an empty string.
 Now, we will see the MID function in action.

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Function 5 – SEARCH Function

The SEARCH function returns the number of characters after finding a specific
character or text string, reading from left to right. This function Searches for a
case-insensitive match. It works for both Array and Non-Array Formula and is
available from Excel 2003.
  Syntax:
The syntax of the SEARCH function is:

SEARCH(find_text,within_text,[start_num])

 Arguments:

ARGUMENT REQUIREMENT EXPLANATION

The text that is searched for. It can be a single text or an

find_text Required
texts.

The text value within which the find_text argument is se

within_text Required
for. It can be a single text value or an array of text va

The position of the within_text argument from which it

[start_num] Optional searching. It can be a single number or an array of numb
default is 1.

Note:

 All three arguments can be either a single value or an array of values.

 If at least one of the arguments is an array, the formula will become an Array
Formula, and you must press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to enter it.
 The third argument [start_num] is optional. The default is 1.
 Return Value
Returns the number of characters at which the specific character or text string
(find_text) is first found, reading from left to right.

 We get the dataset showing how the SEARCH function works.

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Function 6 – LEN Function

The LEN function in Excel returns the length of a given string. It is useful for a
variety of purposes, including finding the number of characters in a given cell or
range of cells or in a given string of text.

Syntax:

The LEN function is described with the following syntax:

=LEN(TEXT)

Arguments:

REQUIRED OR VALUE
ARGUMENT
OPTIONAL

The text for which to calculate

text Required
length.

Note:
 LEN reflects the length of text as a number.
 This function works with numbers, but number formatting is not included.
 LEN function returns zero in terms of empty cells.
 We will see the LEN function in action.
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Function 7 – RIGHT Function

 Syntax:
=RIGHT(text,[num_chars])
 Arguments Explanation:
ARGUMENTS REQUIRED/OPTIONAL EXPLANATION

Pass the text from which to extract characters

text Required
right.

Pass the number of characters to extract, startin

[num_chars] Optional
right. The default value is 1.

 Version:
The RIGHT function is available from Excel 2007 to the latest version.

NOTES
  If num_chars is not provided, it defaults to 1.
 If num_chars is greater than the number of characters available, the RIGHT function
returns the entire text string.
 RIGHT will extract digits from numbers as well as text.
 This function does not consider the formatting of any cell, like a date, currency, etc.
 While writing this article, I’m using the Office 365.
 We see every instance of using the RIGHT function.

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Function 8 – SUBSTITUTE Function

The SUBSTITUTE function replaces existing text with new text in a text string.

Syntax:

=SUBSTITUTE(text, old_text, new_text, [instance_num])

Argument Explanation:
 ARGUMENT REQUIRED/OPTIONAL EXPLANATION

text Required The text to change

old_text Required The text to be replaced

new_text Required The text to replace old_text with

instance_num Optional The text to replace old_text with

 We see the SUBSTITUTE function in action.

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Function 9 – LEFT Function

Syntax:

=LEFT (text, [num_chars])

Arguments:

ARGUMENT REQUIRED/OPTIONAL DESCRIPTION

text Required The text string that contains the characters to extract.

num_chars Optional The number of characters to extract. By default, 1.

Return Parameter:

Returns a specified number of characters from the start of a text string.

 We see the different instances of using the LEFT function.

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Function 10 – CLEAN Function

Syntax:
 =CLEAN(text)

Arguments:

Argument Required/Optional Explanation

It is the text string from which you want

text Required
to remove all of the non-printable characters

Return Value:

After entering the function, it will give you the text string free from all non-
printable characters.

Note:

The CLEAN function can only remove the non-printable characters

represented by numbers 0 to 31 in the 7-bit ASCII code.

 Finally, we see the various instances of using the CLEAN function.

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Function 11 – CHAR Function

Syntax:
=CHAR(number)
Argument Explanation:

ARGUMENT REQUIRED/OPTIONAL EXPLANATION

A number between 1 to 255 is assigned to a s

number Required
character

Return Parameter:

The CHAR function will return a character based on the number given as an
argument.

 Now, we see the output of the CHAR function in different instances.

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Function 12 – PROPER Function

Usually, the PROPER function converts a text string into the proper case, the
first letter in each word to uppercase, and all other letters to lowercase.

Syntax:
=PROPER(text)

Arguments:

ARGUMENT REQUIRED/OPTIONAL EXPLANATION

The text should be converted to a proper case. The text

however, be a formula that yields text, text surround
text Required
quotation marks, or perhaps a reference to such a cel
includes the text.

Returning Parameter:

It returns the first letter of every word to uppercase and other letters to
lowercase.

 Now, we finally see the PROPER function in action.

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Function 13 – EXACT Function

The EXACT function compares two texts and then returns TRUE (in case the
texts are exactly the same) or FALSE (in case they are not exactly the same).

Syntax:

=EXACT (text1,text2)

Arguments Explanation:

ARGUMENTS REQUIRED/OPTIONAL EXPLANATION

text1 Required First text string

text1 Required Second text string

Return Parameter:
TRUE or FALSE, depending on the exact match between the two arguments.

 Now, let’s see the EXACT function in action.

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Function 14 – TRIM Function

Syntax:
=TRIM (text)

Arguments Explanation:

ARGUMENT REQUIRED/OPTIONAL EXPLANATION

The text string from which to eradi

text Required
unnecessary spaces

Return Parameter:

Remove all spaces from a text string except for single spaces between words.

 Let’s look at using the TRIM function in Excel.

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Function 15 – CODE Function

Syntax:
=CODE(text)

Argument Explanation:

ARGUMENT REQUIRED/OPTIONAL EXPLANATION

For any text string, a code will be returned for

text Required
character of the text string

Return Parameter:

A numeric number will be returned for the first character of the input text string.
In general, the number returned by CODE represents the ASCII decimal code
for a character. The CODE function was developed to operate in an ASCII/ANSI
domain, and it only knows how to map characters to integers 0-255.

 We look at using the CODE function in Excel.

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Function 16 – REPT Function

Syntax:
=REPT(text, number_times)

Arguments Explanation:

ARGUMENTS REQUIRED/OPTIONAL EXPLANATION

text Required Text or character that has to be repeat

number_times Required The number of times repetition will occ

Return Parameter:

Repeated number of the selected text or character in a cell.

AD  Let’s see the use of the different instances of the REPT function in Excel.

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Function 17 – VALUE Function

Syntax:
=VALUE(text)

Arguments:

text – The text value to convert into a number.

Return Parameter:

Converts a text string that represents a number to a number.

 We see the use of the VALUE function in Excel.

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Things to Remember
 Data Truncation: When using functions like LEFT, RIGHT, or MID to extract a
portion of a text string, there’s a risk of data truncation if the specified length
exceeds the actual length of the text. This can result in missing or incomplete
information.
 Case Sensitivity Issues: Excel String Functions are generally case-sensitive. If there’s
a mismatch in the text being compared or manipulated, the results may not be as
expected, leading to errors or incorrect outputs.
 Leading and Trailing Spaces: Extra leading or trailing spaces in text strings can cause
discrepancies in search, comparison, and data manipulation operations. Functions
like TRIM can be used to address this, but if overlooked, it can lead to issues