IntermediateText Functions
Pull the year out of an order code with MID
Extract characters from the middle of a text value.
MID
7 min25 points
MID practice exercises
Returns characters from the middle of a text value, given a start point. Below are 1 interactive exercise 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
MID(text, start_num, num_chars)
Practise MID
Ordered from most approachable to hardest.
When MID is the right tool
Returns characters from the middle of a text value, given a start point. 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 LEFT, RIGHT. 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 MID and producing it from memory, correctly, on data you have not seen before, only closes by doing it.
Related functions
Questions about MID
How do I practise MID without Excel installed?
Every exercise on this page runs in your browser. You type the MID formula into a real spreadsheet grid and get told immediately whether it works — no download, no account.
What does MID do?
Returns characters from the middle of a text value, given a start point. The syntax is MID(text, start_num, num_chars). The exercises below put it to work on realistic business data rather than abstract examples.
How long does it take to learn MID?
Most people can write a working MID 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.