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LEFT

Returns the leftmost characters from a text string.

Quick Example​

=LEFT("Hello World", 5)

Returns Hello.

Syntax​

=LEFT(text, [num_chars])

Arguments​

  • text (required): The text string from which to extract characters
  • num_chars (optional): The number of characters to extract. Defaults to 1 if omitted.

Examples​

Extract First Character​

=LEFT("Apple")

Returns A (default is 1 character)

Extract First 5 Characters​

=LEFT("Hello World", 5)

Returns Hello

Extract Area Code​

=LEFT(PhoneNumber, 3)

If PhoneNumber = "5551234567", returns 555

Extract First Name Initial​

=LEFT(A1, 1)

Returns first letter of the value in A1

Extract Year from Date String​

=LEFT("2024-12-25", 4)

Returns 2024

Request More Than Available​

=LEFT("Hi", 10)

Returns Hi (returns all available characters)

How It Works​

Character Extraction​

LEFT extracts characters from the beginning (left side) of the text:

  • Counts from position 1 (first character)
  • Extracts the specified number of characters
  • Stops at the end of the string if num_chars exceeds length

Default Behavior​

If num_chars is omitted, LEFT returns 1 character:

=LEFT("ABC")  // Returns "A"

Exceeding String Length​

If num_chars is greater than the string length, LEFT returns the entire string:

=LEFT("Short", 100)  // Returns "Short"

Negative num_chars​

If num_chars is negative, LEFT returns a #VALUE! error:

=LEFT("Text", -5)  // Returns #VALUE!

Common Use Cases​

Extract First Name​

=LEFT(FullName, FIND(" ", FullName) - 1)

Extract everything before the first space

Extract File Extension Prefix​

=LEFT(Filename, 3)

Get first 3 characters of filename

Parse Codes​

=LEFT(ProductCode, 2)

Extract category code from product ID

Extract Initials​

=LEFT(FirstName, 1) & LEFT(LastName, 1)

Create initials from first and last names

Truncate Long Text​

=LEFT(Description, 50) & "..."

Show only first 50 characters with ellipsis

Extract Country Code​

=LEFT(PhoneNumber, 2)

Extract country code from phone number

Error Handling​

Error Propagation​

If the text argument contains an error, LEFT returns that error:

=LEFT(#DIV/0!, 5)

Returns #DIV/0!

Common Errors​

ErrorCauseSolution
#VALUE!num_chars is negativeUse positive number
#VALUE!num_chars is not numericProvide a number
Error propagationError in text argumentCheck source data

Non-Numeric num_chars​

=LEFT("Text", "abc")

Returns #VALUE! (num_chars must be a number)

Technical Details​

Implementation Notes​

  • Requires 1 or 2 arguments
  • num_chars defaults to 1
  • Returns entire string if num_chars exceeds length
  • Works with any text value
  • Converts non-text arguments to text

Type Conversion​

Numbers and other types are converted to text:

=LEFT(12345, 3)

Returns 123 (number converted to "12345", then extracted)

Empty String​

=LEFT("", 5)

Returns "" (empty string)

Comparison: LEFT vs RIGHT vs MID​

LEFT - From Start​

=LEFT("Hello World", 5)  // "Hello"

RIGHT - From End​

=RIGHT("Hello World", 5)  // "World"

MID - From Middle​

=MID("Hello World", 7, 5)  // "World"

Advanced Examples​

Extract Domain from Email​

=RIGHT(Email, LEN(Email) - FIND("@", Email))

Get everything after @

Extract First Word​

=LEFT(A1, IF(ISERROR(FIND(" ",A1)), LEN(A1), FIND(" ",A1)-1))

Extract first word, handling single-word cases

Validate Prefix​

=IF(LEFT(Code, 2)="AB", "Valid", "Invalid")

Check if code starts with "AB"

Create Abbreviation​

=LEFT(Word1, 1) & LEFT(Word2, 1) & LEFT(Word3, 1)

Create 3-letter abbreviation

  • RIGHT - Extract rightmost characters
  • MID - Extract middle characters
  • LEN - Get text length
  • FIND - Find position of text
  • SUBSTITUTE - Replace text