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How to get text after a character or delimiter
Topic:Text manipulationExcel & Google Sheets
=IF(B2="","Enter a delimiter",IFERROR(MID(A2,FIND(B2,A2)+LEN(B2),LEN(A2)),"Delimiter not found"))✓
Verified example
Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.
| Text | Delimiter |
| invoice__2026__0916 | __ |
=IF(B2="","Enter a delimiter",IFERROR(MID(A2,FIND(B2,A2)+LEN(B2),LEN(A2)),"Delimiter not found"))→2026__0916
Both expressions are checked against an independently calculated expected result in HyperFormula. This is a sample execution check, not native Excel or Google Sheets certification.
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Step by step
- 1Put the input text in A2 and the delimiter in B2.
- 2FIND returns the position of the first delimiter. Adding LEN(B2) advances past the entire delimiter, not just one character.
- 3MID takes the remaining text; LEN(A2) is a safe upper bound for its requested character count.
- 4Use an output cell outside the sample. An empty delimiter or missing delimiter returns the explicit message shown in the formula.
Tips
- FIND is case-sensitive. Use SEARCH if case-insensitive matching is intended, and account for SEARCH wildcard behavior.
- A delimiter at the end returns an empty string. This formula extracts after the first occurrence, not the last.
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Frequently asked
Does this support more than one delimiter character?
Yes. LEN(B2) skips all characters in the delimiter.
Why use a missing-delimiter message?
It distinguishes an unmatched input from a legitimate empty suffix. Investigate other input errors rather than blindly treating every message as valid data.
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Sources and compatibility
Reviewed 2026-09-16