Excel Tutorial – LEFT

The LEFT function in Microsoft Excel is a useful tool that allows you to extract a specified number of characters from the left side of a text string. It is a handy function to use when you want to extract a specific part of a text string, such as a person’s initials or the first few characters of a product code.

Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to use the LEFT function in Microsoft Excel:

1. Open a new or existing spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel.
2. Identify the cell or range of cells that contain the text strings that you want to extract.
3. Select the cell where you want to enter the LEFT function.
4. Type the =LEFT( formula and press the Enter key.
5. In the LEFT formula, enter the cell or range of cells that contain the text strings as the first argument.
6. Enter the number of characters that you want to extract as the second argument.
7. Press the Enter key to complete the LEFT function. The extracted text will be displayed in the selected cell.

Here is an example of a LEFT formula:

=LEFT(A1, 3)

This formula extracts the first three characters from the text string in cell A1.

You can also use the LEFT function to extract characters from a range of cells. For example, if you want to extract the first three characters from each cell in the range A1:A5, you can use the following LEFT formula:

=LEFT(A1:A5, 3)

This formula extracts the first three characters from each cell in the range A1:A5.

In addition to extracting characters from the left side of a text string, you can use the RIGHT function to extract characters from the right side of a text string.

Here is an example of a RIGHT formula:

=RIGHT(A1, 3)

This formula extracts the last three characters from the text string in cell A1.

I hope this tutorial helps you understand how to use the LEFT function in Microsoft Excel. It is a useful tool that can help you extract a specific number of characters from the left side of a text string.