FormulaCraft

LEFT

LEFT returns a set number of characters from the start of a string. It pairs well with FIND or LEN to extract a prefix of variable length.

Excel
=LEFT(A2, 3)
Google Sheets
=LEFT(A2, 3)
✓

Verified example

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

Code
USD-100

=LEFT(A2, 3)→USD

Try it with your data

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Sample data — click any cell to edit

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How it works

  1. 1A2 holds the text.
  2. 23 is how many characters to take from the left.
  3. 3"USD-100" returns "USD".

Need a version for your data?

Try: “Take the first 3 characters from the code in A2”

Related

TEXTJOINLEFT / RIGHT / MIDTRIM

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

Last reviewed: