ID EN
…
#Text

FIND

Excel Functions

Get the position of one text string inside another

Syntax

EXCEL 
=FIND(find_text, within_text, [start_num])

Arguments

Parameter Description
find_text The substring to find.
within_text The text to search within.
start_num [optional] The starting position in the text to search. Optional, defaults to 1.

Return Value

A number representing the location of substring

Details

The FIND function returns the position (as a number) of one text string inside another. In the most basic case, you can use FIND to locate the position of a substring in a text string. You can also use FIND to check if a cell contains specific text. FIND is case-sensitive, which means it distinguishes between uppercase and lowercase letters. This behavior is automatic and cannot be disabled. Here are a few key points to remember about the FIND function: Note: The SEARCH function is similar to the FIND function. Both functions return the position of one text string inside another. However, unlike FIND, SEARCH is not case-sensitive and does support wildcards. The basic syntax of the FIND function looks like this The FIND function is designed to look inside a text string for a specific substr

Examples

Basic syntax

The basic syntax of the FIND function looks like this

EXCEL 
FIND(find_text,within_text,[start_num])
Basic example

The FIND function is designed to look inside a text string for a specific substring. When FIND locates the substring, it returns the position of the s

EXCEL 
=FIND("p","apple") // returns 2
=FIND("z","apple") // returns #VALUE!
=FIND("apple","Pineapple") // returns 5
Basic example

Note that text values entered directly into FIND must be enclosed in double quotes (""). As mentioned above, the FIND function is always case-sensitiv

EXCEL 
=FIND("a","Apple") // returns #VALUE!
=FIND("A","Apple") // returns 1
=FIND("Apple","Pineapple") // returns #VALUE!
Forcing a TRUE or FALSE result

By default, the FIND function returns a number when a search string is found and a #VALUE! error when not. This is inconvenient in cases where you sim

EXCEL 
=ISNUMBER(FIND("p","apple")) // returns TRUE
=ISNUMBER(FIND("z","apple")) // returns FALSE
If cell contains

Once you have a TRUE or FALSE result, you can combine the FIND function with the IF function to create "if cell contains" logic. The generic pattern f

EXCEL 
=IF(ISNUMBER(FIND(substring,A1)), "Yes", "No")
If cell contains

The formula in C5, copied down, is:

EXCEL 
=IF(ISNUMBER(FIND("abc",B5)),"x","")

See Also

SEARCH REPLACE SUBSTITUTE