Syntax
FIND(find_text, within_text, [start_num])
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| find_text | Parameter of the FIND function. |
| within_text | Parameter of the FIND function. |
| [start_num] | (Optional.) Parameter of the FIND function. |
Examples
Find position of a character
Extract username from email
Formula
=LEFT(A2, FIND("@", A2)-1)
Returns: "user" — everything before the @ sign
Find second occurrence
Formula
=FIND("-", A2, FIND("-", A2)+1)
Returns: 8 — the position of the second hyphen in "ABC-123-XY" by starting the search after the first one
Common Errors
#VALUE!
The search text was not found in the string. Use IFERROR to handle cases where the character might not exist.
#VALUE!
The start_num is greater than the text length or less than 1.
Tips
FIND vs SEARCH
FIND is case-sensitive: FIND("a","Apple") returns #VALUE! but SEARCH("a","Apple") returns 1. Use SEARCH when case does not matter.
Check if text contains a string
=ISNUMBER(FIND("text", A1)) returns TRUE/FALSE for whether A1 contains the search text.
Find nth occurrence
To find the Nth delimiter, nest FIND calls or use SUBSTITUTE to replace the Nth occurrence with a unique character, then FIND that.
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