Find function in Excel - how it works

Excel's Find function allows you to find a string within another. You can find out what you need to consider and the syntax of the function here.

Find function in Excel: description and syntax

With "FIND" you can find a certain string within another.

In addition to FINDEN, Excel also knows the FINDENB function. This function is for languages with a double-byte character set. These include Japanese, Chinese and Korean.
The function returns the position at which the searched character was found.

The syntax of the command looks like this: FIND (search text; text; [first_character])

The search text is required and specifies the text you are looking for.
The second parameter text is also required and specifies the text in which the search text is to be searched.
First_character is an optional parameter and, if required, specifies the position from which to search in the text.

You should be familiar with and observe the following properties of the Find function when using it.

The Find function is case sensitive. FIND ("P", "Practical Tips") returns 1 as the result, while FIND ("p", "Practical Tips") returns a 9. You can work around this with the OR function.
Wildcard characters are not allowed in the Find function.
If you want to ignore the spelling or need wildcard characters, you should use the SEARCH function.
If you search for an empty string "", there will always be a match with the first character. FIND ("", "Practical tips") returns 1.
If the string was not found, the error value #VALUE! returned.
If the optional third parameter is less than or equal to 0 or greater than the length of the search text, the error value #VALUE! returned.
You can use the function in all Excel versions from Excel 2007.

In the next practical tip you will find the 5 best add-ins for Microsoft Excel.