LEFT Function


Purpose of the Function

Left function is a type of text function in excel which is used to give the number of characters Extract from the string which is from left to right.

Syntax

=LEFT (text, [num_chars])

  • text : The text string or cell reference containing the text from which you want to extract characters
  • num_chars : Optional. The number of characters you want to extract from the left side of the text. If omitted, it defaults to 1 (extracting the first character).

Practical Example


Step -01 : Call LEFT Function :

Select The Cell, Which You Want to Apply The Function And Write LEFT Function =LEFT In Selected Cell



Step -02 : Enter LEFT Arguments :

We need to select The Cells Which We Want to Extract The Text From Left To Right With in the Brackets. How Many Characters/ Letters We Want We Can Enter, In This Example We need Four Characters/ Letters In Last Name.



Step -03 : Hit The Enter Key :

After Entering The Function We need hit The Enter Key, The Excel Extract the First Four Letters From Left to Right, Which We Selected Cells.



Step -04 : Drag Or Double Click in the Plus Sign (+) :

If You Drag Your mouse In the Bottom of Right Corner Cell You Are Able To See Plus Sign (+), If you Double Click in The Plus Sign (+) The Excel Automatically Extract Entire Cells First Four Letters From Left to Right OR Click On Plus Sign (+) And Drag Up to Last Cells.



The LEFT function is commonly used when you need to extract a specific number of characters from the beginning (left side) of a text string in Excel.