FIND Function Generator
FIND returns the starting position of one text string inside another. Case-sensitive. Use SEARCH for case-insensitive matching or wildcard support.
Syntax
=FIND(find_text, within_text, [start_num])Try it — generate a FIND formula
Examples
Position of @ in an email
=FIND("@", A2)Returns the 1-based position of the @ sign.
Split name at first space
=LEFT(A2, FIND(" ", A2)-1)Extracts first word using FIND to locate the space.
Find second occurrence
=FIND("-", A2, FIND("-", A2)+1)Second dash by starting the search after the first.
Tips
- ✓Case-sensitive — for case-insensitive use SEARCH instead.
- ✓Returns #VALUE! if the substring is not found. Wrap in IFERROR for safety.
- ✓FIND does not support wildcards. SEARCH does.
Related Formulas
SEARCH
SEARCH locates one text string inside another. Case-insensitive and accepts wild...
LEFT
LEFT returns the first N characters from a text string. Useful for extracting pr...
SUBSTITUTE
SUBSTITUTE replaces occurrences of a specific text inside a string. Lets you tar...
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