Returns the leftmost characters from a text string
Syntax
LEFT(text, [num_chars])
- text—The text that you want to return a portion from.
- num_chars—[optional]Starting from the leftmost character, the number of characters to return. If you didn't provide a number, the function returns only the first character.
Sample usage
LEFT("Hello World!", 3)
Usage notes
- With right-to-left languages, LEFT will return the rightmost characters instead.
Examples
This example references the following sheet information:
| Item Number | Transaction Total | Units Sold | Ship Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C001 | 1,170.00 | 78 | 02/15/19 |
| 2 | C002 | 1,491.00 | 42 | 03/20/19 |
| 3 | C003 | 812.00 | 217 | 02/27/19 |
Given the table above, here are some examples of using LEFT in a sheet:
| Formula | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
| =LEFT("Smartsheet", 5) | Returns the five leftmost characters from the text string Smartsheet | Smart |
| =LEFT([Item Number]2, 3) | Return the three leftmost characters from a text string in row 2 of the Item Number column | C00 |
| =SUMIF([Item Number]:[Item Number], LEFT(@cell, 3) = "C00", [Transaction Total]:[Transaction Total]) |
Sums the values in the Transaction Total column for rows where the value in the Item Number column returns the three leftmost characters equal to C00. Rows 1, 2, and 3 apply. | 3,473.00 |
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