FIND Function

🎯Purpose

Locates one text string inside a second text string, and returns the number of the starting position of find_text from the first character of within_text. FIND is strictly case-sensitive and does not allow wildcard characters.

Syntax

EXCEL

=FIND(find_text, within_text, [start_num])

Arguments Breakdown

Argument	Required?	Description
`find_text`	Required	The text you want to find.
`within_text`	Required	The text containing the text you want to find.
`start_num`	Optional	Specifies the character position at which to start searching (defaults to `1`).

Practical Examples

1. Case-Sensitive Match Drill

From Formulas_&_Functions_Part_1.xlsx: In "MAN United":

EXCEL

=FIND("MAN", B1)

Result: returns character position index of "MAN".

EXCEL

=FIND("man", B1)

Result: #VALUE! error (because "man" is lowercase and FIND is case-sensitive).

2. Finding Delimiter Position for Parsing

EXCEL

=FIND("@", Customer[Email])

Gotchas & Behavior

If find_text is "" (empty string), FIND matches the first character (returns 1 or start_num).
If find_text is not found, FIND returns #VALUE!. Trap with IFERROR or ISNUMBER.

Related Knowledge

Notes: 05 Text Manipulation Functions
Workbook: 11_Demos_and_Workbooks/03_Formulas_and_Functions/Formulas_&_Functions_Part_1.xlsx (Sheet: Text)