# LEFT/LEFTB Function

The LEFT/LEFTB function is one of the text and data functions. Is used to extract the substring from the specified string starting from the left character. The LEFT function is intended for languages that use the single-byte character set (SBCS), while LEFTB - for languages that use the double-byte character set (DBCS) like Japanese, Chinese, Korean etc.

The LEFT/LEFTB function syntax is:

LEFT(string [, number-chars])

LEFTB(string [, number-chars])

where

string is a string you need to extract the substring from,

number-chars is a number of the substring characters. It is an optional argument. If it is omitted, the function will assume it to be 1.

The data can be entered manually or included into the cells you make reference to.

To apply the LEFT/LEFTB function,

1. select the cell where you wish to display the result,
2. click the Insert function icon situated at the top toolbar,
   or right-click within a selected cell and select the Insert Function option from the menu,
   or click the icon situated at the formula bar,
3. select the Text and data function group from the list,
4. click the LEFT/LEFTB function,
5. enter the required arguments separating them by comma,
6. press the Enter button.

The result will be displayed in the selected cell.