The TEXTBEFORE Function | Full Stack Modeller

Returns text from a cell that occurs before a given delimiter

What does Excel's TEXTBEFORE function do?

The TEXTBEFORE function is one of Excel's text functions.

TEXTBEFORE returns the text from a text string that occurs before a given delimiter (character or string).

Here's a simple example

Let's take a look at a simple example of the TEXTBEFORE function.

We would like to return the text that comes before the first space.

=TEXTBEFORE(A1," ")

What does that mean in plain English?

Return the text that comes before the first space.

How do I write a formula using the TEXTBEFORE function?

=TEXTBEFORE(text,delimiter,[instance_num], [match_mode], [match_end], [if_not_found])

text – The text that you want to extract text from

delimiter – The character that you want to extract text before

[instance_num] – The instance of the delimiter you want to extract before. Defaul is 1. Use a negative number to start from the end.

[match_mode]– Case sensitive delimiter. TRUE = yes (default) , FALSE = no

[match_end]– Treat the end of the text string as the delimiter.

[if_not_found] – What to return if the delimter provided is not found. By default, #N/A is returned

What to consider when using the TEXTBEFORE function in your  model

• The TEXTBEFORE function was introduced in 2019, so be aware of compatibility issues for users of previous Excel versions.
• Use a negative number in the instance_num arguement to start from the end.

Read more about the TEXTBEFORE function on the Microsoft support page here.