How to use TEXTBEFORE function in Excel?

The `TEXTBEFORE` function in Excel is used to extract a portion of text from a string that appears before a specified delimiter. This function is especially useful when you need to separate or manipulate data where specific text elements are divided by consistent characters or strings.

Syntax:

TEXTBEFORE(text, delimiter, [instance_num], [match_mode], [match_end], [if_not_found])

Arguments:

text: The string from which you want to extract text. This is a required argument.
delimiter: The character or string that marks the point before which the text is extracted. This is also required.
instance_num (optional): Determines which occurrence of the delimiter to consider. The default value is 1, meaning the first occurrence.

If positive, it counts from the start.
If negative, it counts from the end.

match_mode (optional): Specifies whether the function is case-sensitive.

0 for case-sensitive (default),
1 for case-insensitive.

match_end (optional): Defines whether to search for the delimiter at the end of the text string.

FALSE searches from the start (default),
TRUE searches from the end.

if_not_found (optional): The text to return if the delimiter is not found in the text. By default, the function returns a `#N/A` error.

Example Usage:

Basic Example:

To extract text before the first comma from cell A1:

   =TEXTBEFORE(A1, ",")

If A1 contains “Hello, World”, this formula returns “Hello”.

Specifying an instance number:

To get text before the second comma:

   =TEXTBEFORE(A1, ",", 2)

If A1 contains “Hello, World, Excel”, this formula returns “Hello, World”.

Case-insensitive extraction:

To perform a case-insensitive search for “X” as a delimiter:

   =TEXTBEFORE(A1, "X", , 1)

Handling when delimiter is not found:

Set a default return value if the delimiter is not found:

   =TEXTBEFORE(A1, ",", 1, 0, FALSE, "Delimiter not found")

If there’s no comma in A1, this returns “Delimiter not found”.

Using the `TEXTBEFORE` function effectively allows you to handle text data with precision, providing flexibility in dealing with various string manipulation scenarios in spreadsheets.

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