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How to extract text from a string in Excel and Google Sheets
Topic:Text manipulationExcel & Google Sheets
=MID(A2,FIND("[",A2)+1,FIND("]",A2)-FIND("[",A2)-1)✓
Verified example
Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.
| Raw Text | Extracted |
| Code [ABC] here | |
| Tag [XYZ] end | |
| ID [123] ok | |
| Ref [QQQ] x | |
| Val [ZZZ] done |
=MID(A2,FIND("[",A2)+1,FIND("]",A2)-FIND("[",A2)-1)→ABC
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Step by step
- 1For the first N characters use =LEFT(A2,N) — e.g. =LEFT(A2,3) returns the first 3 characters.
- 2For the last N characters use =RIGHT(A2,N).
- 3For text starting at position P with length L use =MID(A2,P,L).
- 4To extract text between two known markers (e.g. brackets), combine MID and FIND: =MID(A2,FIND("[",A2)+1,FIND("]",A2)-FIND("[",A2)-1).
Tips
- In Google Sheets, =REGEXEXTRACT(A2,"\[(.+?)\]") is a shorter way to grab text inside square brackets.
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Frequently asked
Is MID the same in Excel and Google Sheets?
Yes — the syntax MID(text,start_num,num_chars) is identical in both applications.
What if the start marker appears multiple times?
Use FIND's third argument (start_position) to find the second occurrence: FIND("[",A2,FIND("[",A2)+1).
More on Text manipulation
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Turn numbers stored as text into real numbers with VALUE or by multiplying by 1 — the fix for sums that ignore values.
How-toHow to extract the domain from an email address
Pull everything after the @ from an email using FIND and MID. Works the same in Excel and Google Sheets.
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Get the first name from a full name with LEFT and FIND, splitting on the first space. Works in Excel and Google Sheets.
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Pad numbers to a fixed width with leading zeros using TEXT, or a custom number format. Works in Excel and Google Sheets.