Function: FIND

by | Dec 18, 2018 | Excel Formulas

FIND-Example-1

Excel FIND function returns an integer that represents the position of a specified character or substring, within a text. In this guide, we’re going to show you how to use Excel FIND function, and also go over some tips and error handling methods.

Supported versions

  • All Excel versions

FIND Syntax

FIND(find_text, within_text, start_num)

Arguments

find_text The character or the substring you want to find.
within_text The text that contains the character or substring you want to find.
start_num Optional. The position of the character that you want to start the search. If omitted, the function starts looking from the first character.


Examples

Example 1

=FIND("a","Charizard")
 formula returns 3 for position of the first occurrence of the character "a". The start_num argument is omitted to make the function start from the first character.

FIND-Example-1

Example 2

=VLOOKUP(O5,B2:L16,3,TRUE)
formula returns 7 for position of the first occurrence of the character "a" after the 4th character.

FIND-Example-2

Example 3

=FIND("zard","Charizard")
returns 6 for position of the first occurrence of the string "zard".

FIND-Example-3

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Tips

  • Excel FIND function is case-sensitive and does not support wild cards.
  • Use the SEARCH function for non-case sensitive searches. You can also use wild cards with this formula.
  • You can combine the FIND function with LEFT, MID, and RIGHT functions to locate and parse substrings.

Issues

#VALUE!

You will see a #VALUE! error if find_text is not found in the within_text range.