SEARCH

Definition of SEARCH:

Returns the position at which a string is first found within text, ignoring case.

Sample Usage

SEARCH("n",A2)

SEARCH("wood","How much wood can a woodchuck chuck",14)

Syntax

SEARCH(search_for, text_to_search, [starting_at])

• search_for - The string to look for within text_to_search.

• text_to_search - The text to search for the first occurrence of search_for.

• starting_at - [ OPTIONAL - 1 by default ] - The character within text_to_search at which to start the search.

Notes

• SEARCH is not case-sensitive, meaning that uppercase and lowercase letters do not matter. For example, "abc" will match "ABC". To compare text where case matters, use the FIND function.
• Ensure that search_for and text_to_search are not supplied in reverse order, or the #VALUE! error will likely be returned. The arguments are supplied in a different order than other text functions such as SPLIT and SUBSTITUTE.
• It's recommended to use a function such as IFERROR to check for cases when there aren't matches to the search.

See Also

SUBSTITUTE: Replaces existing text with new text in a string.

SPLIT: Divides text around a specified character or string, and puts each fragment into a separate cell in the row.

FIND: Returns the position at which a string is first found within text, case-sensitive.

IFERROR: Returns the first argument if it is not an error value, otherwise returns the second argument if present, or a blank if the second argument is absent.

 

Step 1. To use the SEARCH Formula, start with the Excellentable you would like to edit.

Step 2. Then type the SEARCH formula into the cell you have chosen to display the outcome:

Step 3. Fill in the 2 values.

By adding the values you would like to calculate, Excellentable generates the outcome: