Microsoft Excel - Working with Excel Text-Based Function

📊 Working with Excel Text-Based Functions

A Practical Guide to LEFT, RIGHT, MID, LEN, SEARCH & CONCAT excel functions

In day-to-day work, Excel is not just about numbers. Very often we deal with text data—emails, IDs, file names, codes, descriptions, etc.

Microsoft Excel provides powerful text-based functions to extract, search, and combine text efficiently.

In this blog, we’ll explore the most commonly used Excel text functions with simple examples and real-life use cases.

🔹 1. LEFT() Function

Purpose: Extracts a specified number of characters from the left side of a text string.

Syntax: LEFT(text, num_chars)

Example:

=LEFT("ORACLEOIC", 6)

Result: ORACLE

Use Case:

Extract country codes

Get prefixes from employee IDs

Read file name initials

🔹 2. RIGHT() Function

Purpose: Extracts characters from the right side of a text string.

Syntax: RIGHT(text, num_chars)

Example:

=RIGHT("INV_2026", 4)

Result: 2026

Use Case:

Extract year from invoice numbers

Get last digits of mobile numbers

Read file extensions

🔹 3. MID() Function

Purpose: Extracts text from the middle of a string.

Syntax: MID(text, start_num, num_chars)

Example:

=MID("EMP-12345-IND", 5, 5)

Result: 12345

Use Case:

Extract employee or order IDs

Parse structured codes

Read values between delimiters

🔹 4. LEN() Function

Purpose:

Returns the total number of characters in a text string (including spaces).

Syntax: LEN(text)

Example:

=LEN("Excel Functions")

Result: 15

Use Case:

Validate text length

Dynamically calculate MID / RIGHT values

Detect extra spaces

🔹 5. SEARCH() Function

Purpose:

Finds the position of a character or word within text (not case-sensitive).

Syntax: SEARCH(find_text, within_text)

Example:

=SEARCH("@", "user.name@gmail.com")

Result: 10

Use Case:

Locate special characters (@, -, _)

Split emails or file names

Dynamic text extraction

🔹 6. CONCAT / CONCATENATE Function

Purpose:

Joins multiple text strings into one.

Syntax (Modern Excel): CONCATENATE(text1, text2, ...)

Example:

=CONCATENATE("Oracle", " ", "Integration", " ", "Cloud")

Result:

Oracle Integration Cloud

Use Case:

Combine first & last names

Build dynamic messages

Create file names or IDs

🔹 7. Real-Life Combined Example (Most Important)

🎯 Extract Domain Name from Email ID

Email: john.doe@company.com

Formula:

=MID(A1, SEARCH("@", A1) + 1, LEN(A1))

Result:

company.com

👉 This example shows the real power of Excel, where multiple text functions work together.

✅ Why These Functions Matter

Save manual effort

Avoid data errors

Make formulas dynamic

Essential for reporting, automation & integration work

Whether you’re working in finance, HR, IT, ERP, or integrations, these text functions are absolute must-knows.