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LEFT – Excel Function | Blake Ekelund

LEFT

Extract a specific number of characters from the start of a text string.

Beginner

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Syntax

=LEFT(text, [num_chars])

Example Use Cases

Extracting department codes from employee IDs
Pulling product prefixes from SKU numbers
Grabbing the first two letters of a postal code

Common Issues

Using LEFT on numbers without converting them to text first
Forgetting that LEFT is case-sensitive when combined with comparisons
Getting a #VALUE! error when num_chars is negative or non-numeric

Pro Tips

Use LEFT with FIND to dynamically extract text before a specific character
Wrap numbers with TEXT() before using LEFT to avoid conversion issues
Combine LEFT with TRIM to clean messy imports before extracting data

Related Functions in TEXT & FORMATTING

Beginner Functions

Function	Use Case	Syntax
LEN	Count the number of characters in a text string.	=LEN(text)
CLEAN	Remove non-printable characters from imported or messy text.	=CLEAN(text)

Intermediate Functions

Function	Use Case	Syntax
TEXT	Format numbers, dates, or times as text using custom formatting.	=TEXT(value, format_text)
FIND	Locate the position of a character or substring in text.	=FIND(find_text, within_text, [start_num])