How to Use the FIND Function in Excel
Looking for a specific piece of information in a large Excel spreadsheet can be a daunting task, especially if you have to scroll through rows and columns of data. Fortunately, Excel has a powerful tool called the FIND function that can help you quickly locate data within a cell.
So, we’ll walk you through the basics of the FIND function in Excel and provide examples to show you how to use the function effectively.
What Is the FIND Function in Excel?
The FIND function is a text function in Excel that allows you to locate a specific character or substring within a text string and returns the position (as a number) of the character or substring. The syntax for the FIND function is as follows:
The FIND function is case-sensitive, so it will only find the exact characters you specify. If you want to find a character or text string regardless of case, use the SEARCH function instead.
How to Use Excel’s FIND Function
To understand how the FIND function works, let’s look at some basic examples of how to use FIND in Excel.
Finding the Position of a Specific Character in a Text String
Suppose you have the following text string in cell A2: “Hi, there!”. To find the position of the comma in the text string, you will be using:
This formula will return 3, which is the position of the comma in the text string.
Finding the Position of a Substring in a Text String
Suppose you have the following text string in cell A2: “The apple in a bag”. To find the position of the word “apple” in the text string, you will use the formula below:
This formula will return 5, which is the position of the first letter of the word “apple” in the text string.
How to Combine FIND With Other Excel Functions
The FIND function in Excel can be combined with other functions to perform more advanced data manipulation tasks. Here are some examples:
1. Using FIND With LEFT and RIGHT Functions
You can combine the FIND function with the LEFT and RIGHT functions in Excel to extract specific text from a larger string. As their names imply, the LEFT and RIGHT functions are used to get a specified number of characters from the left or right side of a text string, respectively.
Example: The formula below extracts and returns the domain name of the email address in A2.
In this formula, the FIND function finds the position of the “@” symbol within the email address, while the LEN function calculates the length of the email address string. Excel subtracts the position of the “@” character from the total string length returned by LEN, and return that many characters using the RIGHT function.
If you want to learn more about the LEN function, read our article onhow to count in Excel with the LEN function. Similarly, you can extract the username using the LEFT function. The formula that will go in the B2 cell will be:
In this formula, the FIND function locates the “@” symbol within the address, and the LEFT function extracts the characters to the left of the “@” symbol, which is the username of the email address.
2. Using FIND With MID Function
The MID function returns the characters from the middle of a text string, given a starting position and length. You can use the FIND function with the MID function to return a specific substring based on the position of the starting and ending characters.
Let’s say you have a list of product codes that are all in the same format: a 3-character prefix, followed by a dash, and then a 4-digit number. You want to get the 4-digit number from each product code. The formula is as follows:
In this formula, FIND locates the position of the “-” symbol in each product code, and MID returns the 4-digit number that follows the symbol. The number of characters to return is set to 4, since we want to get a 4-digit number.
3. Using FIND With IF and ISNUMBER Functions
You can use the FIND function with the IF and ISNUMBER functions to check whether a specific character or substring exists within a text string. TheIF function in nested formulasreturns a value depending on whether a condition is true or false. The ISNUMBER function checks whether a value is a number and returns TRUE or FALSE.
Here’s an example: Suppose you have a list of names in column A, and you want to identify which names start with the letter “S”. You can use the FIND function to search for “S” at the beginning of each name, and then use the IF and ISNUMBER functions to return a value of “Yes” or “No” depending on whether the name begins with “S”.
The formula will be:
This formula returns “Yes” since the name in cell A2 starts with “S”. You can copy this formula down to the other cells in column B to check all the names in your list.
These are just a few examples of how the FIND function can be used with other Excel functions to perform various tasks. By combining different functions in creative ways, you could automate and simplify many data analysis tasks.
Extract Data Easily With Excel’s FIND Function
Excel’s FIND function is a powerful tool that allows you to locate specific data within a cell or range of cells. This function can be particularly useful when you’re working with large datasets and need to quickly find certain information. By using the FIND function in your Excel spreadsheets, you can customize your search criteria and find what you need in no time.
Do you struggle with selecting data in Excel? Learn how to use the CHOOSE function to quickly and easily select data based on specific criteria.
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