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RIGHT

Returns the rightmost characters from a text string.

Quick Example​

=RIGHT("Hello World", 5)

Returns World.

Syntax​

=RIGHT(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 Last Character​

=RIGHT("Apple")

Returns e (default is 1 character)

Extract Last 5 Characters​

=RIGHT("Hello World", 5)

Returns World

Extract File Extension​

=RIGHT(Filename, 3)

If Filename = "document.pdf", returns pdf

Extract Last Name Initial​

=RIGHT(LastName, 1)

Returns last letter of the name

Extract Last 4 Digits​

=RIGHT(CreditCard, 4)

Get last 4 digits of credit card number

Request More Than Available​

=RIGHT("Hi", 10)

Returns Hi (returns all available characters)

How It Works​

Character Extraction​

RIGHT extracts characters from the end (right side) of the text:

  • Counts from the end of the string
  • Extracts the specified number of characters
  • Returns entire string if num_chars exceeds length

Default Behavior​

If num_chars is omitted, RIGHT returns 1 character:

=RIGHT("ABC")  // Returns "C"

Exceeding String Length​

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

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

Negative num_chars​

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

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

Common Use Cases​

Extract Last Name​

=RIGHT(FullName, LEN(FullName) - FIND(" ", FullName))

Extract everything after the first space

Extract File Extension​

=RIGHT(Filename, LEN(Filename) - FIND(".", Filename))

Get file extension (everything after last period)

Extract Last 4 of SSN​

=RIGHT(SSN, 4)

Get last 4 digits for display/verification

Parse Domain​

=RIGHT(URL, LEN(URL) - FIND(".", URL))

Extract top-level domain

Get Line Number​

=RIGHT(InvoiceNumber, 5)

Extract last 5 characters as line number

Extract Suffix​

=RIGHT(PartNumber, 2)

Get variant code from part number

Error Handling​

Error Propagation​

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

=RIGHT(#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​

=RIGHT("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:

=RIGHT(12345, 3)

Returns 345 (number converted to "12345", then extracted)

Empty String​

=RIGHT("", 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 Extension with Period​

=RIGHT(Filename, LEN(Filename) - FIND("~", SUBSTITUTE(Filename, ".", "~", LEN(Filename) - LEN(SUBSTITUTE(Filename, ".", "")))))

Get extension after last period in filename

Mask All But Last 4​

=CONCATENATE(REPT("*", LEN(A1)-4), RIGHT(A1, 4))

Show ****1234 for credit card

Extract State from Address​

=RIGHT(LEFT(Address, LEN(Address) - 6), 2)

Extract 2-letter state code (assuming format "City, ST 12345")

Validate Suffix​

=IF(RIGHT(SKU, 1)="X", "Discontinued", "Active")

Check if SKU ends with X

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