FIND Function in Excel: Position of Text (Case-Sensitive)

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TextLevel: IntermediateAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article

1. Syntax
2. Examples
3. Example 1
4. Example 2
5. Common errors and fixes
6. FIND in practice
7. Where you will use it
8. Worked example
9. Mistakes people make
10. Related functions
11. Continue learning

FIND returns where one text starts inside another. It is case-sensitive and does not allow wildcards — use SEARCH for that.

Syntax

=FIND(find_text, within_text, [start_num])

Argument	What it means
start_num	Where to start looking (1 if omitted).

Examples

Example 1

=FIND("@", A2)

Position of @ in an email.

Example 2

=FIND(" ", A2, FIND(" ", A2)+1)

Position of the second space.

Common errors and fixes

You see	Why, and the fix
#VALUE!	Text not found, or different case. Use SEARCH, and wrap with IFERROR.

FIND in practice

Where you will use it

• Position of '@' in an email to split it
• Check if a code contains a letter (case-sensitive)
• Extract text before a dash

Worked example

Text	Formula	Result
[email protected]	=IFERROR(FIND("@",A2),"not found")	5
INV-2026-145	=IFERROR(FIND("@",A3),"not found")	not found
no-at-sign	=IFERROR(FIND("@",A4),"not found")	not found

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

Mistake	What to do instead
Case sensitivity	FIND is case-sensitive; SEARCH is not
#VALUE! when missing	Wrap in IFERROR or ISNUMBER(FIND(...))

Related functions

SEARCH · MID · LEFT

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📎 Practice files for this article

• 📗
  Practice workbook: Text & cleaning24 tasks on realistic sales data — type your formula, the Check column turns green when it is right. Answers sheet included.
  ⬇ XLSX · 35 KB

Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.