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
LEFT practice exercises
Returns a set number of characters from the start of a text value. 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
LEFT(text, [num_chars])
Need a refresher? Learn LEFT — syntax, a worked example and where it goes wrong.
Practise LEFT
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 - IntermediateLogical Functions
Turn a product code into a category
Read a code's prefix and translate it into a readable category name.
IFS · LEFT
9 min30 points
When LEFT is the right tool
Returns a set number of characters from the start of a text value. 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.
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 LEFT and producing it from memory, correctly, on data you have not seen before, only closes by doing it.
Related functions
Questions about LEFT
How do I practise LEFT without Excel installed?
Every exercise on this page runs in your browser. You type the LEFT formula into a real spreadsheet grid and get told immediately whether it works — no download, no account.
What does LEFT do?
Returns a set number of characters from the start of a text value. The syntax is LEFT(text, [num_chars]). The exercises below put it to work on realistic business data rather than abstract examples.
How long does it take to learn LEFT?
Most people can write a working LEFT 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.