Applies ToSharePoint Server Subscription Edition SharePoint Server 2019 SharePoint Server 2016 SharePoint Server 2013 SharePoint Server 2013 Enterprise SharePoint in Microsoft 365 SharePoint Foundation 2010 SharePoint Server 2010 SharePoint in Microsoft 365 Small Business Windows SharePoint Services 3.0

LEFT returns the first character or characters in a text string, based on the number of characters you specify.

Syntax

LEFT(text,num_chars)

Text     is the text string that contains the characters you want to extract.

Num_chars     specifies the number of characters you want LEFT to extract. Num_chars must be greater than or equal to zero. If num_chars is greater than the length of text, LEFT returns all of text. If num_chars is omitted, it is assumed to be 1.

Examples

Col1

Form ula

Description (Result)

Sale Price

=LEFT([Col1],4)

First four characters in the string (Sale)

Sweden

=LEFT([Col1])

First character in the string (S)

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