Syntax, a live playground, a measured position gallery, the negative-count trap, and a sourced error library: extracting text from the left.
Returns the first num_chars characters of text. Negative counts are #VALUE!; zero returns an empty string.
LEFT returns the first num_chars characters of a text string. The edge cases — default count, over-length, zero and negative — are where people get surprised. Every row was measured live in HyperFormula. Click any row to load it.
| Expression | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|
| =LEFT(A2,3) | Exc | First 3 of Excel |
| =LEFT(A2) | E | Omitted num_chars defaults to 1 |
| =LEFT(A2,10) | Excel | Longer than the text: whole string |
| =LEFT(A3,4) | Form | First 4 of Formula |
| =LEFT(A4,2) | Lo | First 2 of Lookup |
| =LEFT("Hello",3) | Hel | Works on a literal |
| =LEFT(A2,2.9) | Ex | Decimal truncated to 2 |
| =LEFT(A2,1)&"-"&RIGHT(A2,1) | E-l | Compose with RIGHT |
| Expression | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|
| =LEFT(A2,0) | "" | Zero characters: an empty string |
| =LEFT(A2,-1) | #VALUE! | Negative count is an error |
Edit the table or type any formula — the engine evaluates instantly. Load a preset to see LEFT take a default single character, return the whole string when over-length, and compose with RIGHT.
8 failure patterns mined from actual user reports on Reddit, Stack Overflow and Super User — each with the authentic symptom, root cause, a fix, and a runnable formula. Not textbook theory.
LEFT is available across modern Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice. It has been in Excel since 2003.
| Platform | Support | Notes | Gotcha |
|---|
LEFT is one piece. The full course walks the toolkit end to end with live, measured examples.