MID returns a specific number of characters from a text string, starting at the position you specify, based on the number of characters you specify.
Syntax
MID(text,start_num,num_chars)
Text is the text string containing the characters you want to extract.
Start_num is the position of the first character you want to extract in text. The first character in text has start_num 1, and so on.
Num_chars specifies the number of characters you want MID to return from text.
Remarks
- If start_num is greater than the length of text, MID returns "" (empty text).
- If start_num is less than the length of text, but start_num plus num_chars exceeds the length of text, MID returns the characters up to the end of text.
- If start_num is less than 1, MID returns the #VALUE! error value.
- If num_chars is negative, MID returns the #VALUE! error value.
Examples
| Formula | Description (Result) |
|---|---|
| =MID("Fluid Flow",1,5) | Five characters from the string, starting at the first character (Fluid) |
| =MID("Fluid Flow",7,20) | Twenty characters from the string, starting at the seventh (Flow) |
| =MID("Fluid Flow",20,5) | Because the starting point is greater than the length of the string, empty text is returned () |