CODE

CODE is the inverse of CHAR — it takes a text string and returns the numeric character code of its first character according to the ASCII/ANSI table. Use it to inspect character values, detect non-printing characters, or build custom sort logic based on character codes.

Excel

=CODE(A2)

Google Sheets

=CODE(A2)

✓

Verified example

Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.

Text	Code
Apple	=CODE(A2)
Banana	=CODE(A3)
Cherry	=CODE(A4)
Date	=CODE(A5)

=CODE(A2)→65

Try it with your data

Edit the grid or formula, then run it through a real spreadsheet engine — no signup.

Sample data — click any cell to edit

Cell row 1 column 1	Cell row 1 column 2
Cell row 2 column 1	Cell row 2 column 2
Cell row 3 column 1	Cell row 3 column 2
Cell row 4 column 1	Cell row 4 column 2
Cell row 5 column 1	Cell row 5 column 2

Formula

Runs server-side · free · no signup

How it works

1Place the text whose first character you want to inspect in a cell (e.g., 'Apple' in A2).
2Enter =CODE(A2) to return 65, the code for 'A'.
3Use CODE inside an IF or CHOOSE to branch logic based on whether a cell starts with a letter, digit, or special character.

Need a version for your data?

Try: “Find the ASCII code of the first character in each cell to detect leading symbols”

TEXTJOIN LEFT / RIGHT / MID TRIM

Written and reviewed by FormulaCraft Team. Each formula on this page is run through our verification engine before publishing.

Last reviewed: May 28, 2026

CODE

Verified example

Try it with your data

How it works

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