BeginnerText Functions
Split a full name with LEFT and FIND
Pull the first name out of a single full-name column.
LEFT · FIND
7 min15 points
FIND practice exercises
Returns the position of one text value inside another. Case-sensitive. Below are 3 interactive exercises that put it to work on realistic business data — you write the formula, and get told exactly what went wrong when it does not work.
Syntax
FIND(find_text, within_text, [start_num])
Need a refresher? Learn FIND — syntax, a worked example and where it goes wrong.
Practise FIND
Ordered from most approachable to hardest.
- IntermediateText Functions
Split a city away from its state
Cut a combined location field at the comma without counting characters by hand.
LEFT · FIND
8 min25 points - AdvancedText Functions
Extract a lot number from a messy code
Pull a fixed-length value out of the middle of a code that varies in shape.
MID · FIND
12 min35 points
When FIND is the right tool
Returns the position of one text value inside another. Case-sensitive. It belongs to the text functions family, and it shows up constantly in real work — which is why it is worth being genuinely fluent rather than merely familiar.
Before this one, it helps to be comfortable with LEN. The exercises below assume that ground is covered.
Reading about a function is not the same as being able to write it. The exercises on this page exist because the gap between recognising FIND and producing it from memory, correctly, on data you have not seen before, only closes by doing it.
Related functions
Questions about FIND
How do I practise FIND without Excel installed?
Every exercise on this page runs in your browser. You type the FIND formula into a real spreadsheet grid and get told immediately whether it works — no download, no account.
What does FIND do?
Returns the position of one text value inside another. Case-sensitive. The syntax is FIND(find_text, within_text, [start_num]). The exercises below put it to work on realistic business data rather than abstract examples.
How long does it take to learn FIND?
Most people can write a working FIND formula within twenty minutes of practice. Getting it right under pressure — with edge cases, unsorted data and ranges that must survive being filled down — is what the harder exercises here are for.