FIND function in Excel

Use the FIND function in Excel to find the position of a substring in a string. The FIND function is case-sensitive.

1. The FIND function below finds the string "ro" at position 4.

2. The FIND function below finds the string "Excel" at position 11.

3. The FIND function is case-sensitive. The FIND function below returns the #VALUE! error because it cannot find the string "excel".

Tip: the SEARCH function in Excel is case-insensitive and supports wildcards. To replace a #VALUE! error that may be returned by the FIND function with a more user-friendly message, combine the FIND function with the IFERROR function.

The FIND function in Excel has a 3rd optional argument. You can use this argument to indicate the position, counting from the left, at which you want to start searching.

4. The FIND function below finds the string "o" at position 5.

5. The FIND function below starts searching at position 6 and finds the string "o" at position 7.

Tip: combine the FIND function with LEFT, RIGHT and MID to extract substrings in Excel.