SEARCH Function Generator
SEARCH locates one text string inside another. Case-insensitive and accepts wildcards (* and ?). Use FIND when case matters.
Syntax
=SEARCH(find_text, within_text, [start_num])Try it — generate a SEARCH formula
Examples
Case-insensitive contains
=ISNUMBER(SEARCH("error", A2))Returns TRUE if A2 contains "error" (any case).
Wildcard match
=SEARCH("2024*", A2)Matches if A2 starts with 2024. * = any characters.
Position of any vowel
=SEARCH("?", A2)? wildcard matches any single character.
Tips
- ✓SEARCH is case-insensitive; FIND is case-sensitive.
- ✓Wrap in IFERROR or ISNUMBER to handle no-match cases.
- ✓Use * for any sequence, ? for one character.
Related Formulas
FIND
FIND returns the starting position of one text string inside another. Case-sensi...
IFERROR
IFERROR wraps a formula and returns a fallback value when the formula throws an ...
SUBSTITUTE
SUBSTITUTE replaces occurrences of a specific text inside a string. Lets you tar...
Need a different formula?
Describe any formula in plain English and FormulaPad will generate it.
Try FormulaPad Free