What is the Excel TEXTJOIN Function?

The excel TEXTJOIN function is the best function to concatenate strings in Excel, has an option to add word separator and can concatenate multiple cells or a range easily.

TEXTJOIN Syntax

TEXTJOIN(delimiter, ignore_empty, text1, [text2], …)

delimiter, required, a separator between each text.

ignore_empty, required, TRUE to ignore empty cell and FALSE to include empty cell.

text1, required, text to be joined, you can use a text, a cell or even a range.

text2, optional, additional text values to be joined.

How to Use TEXTJOIN Function in Excel

The following is an example of TEXTJOIN function usage and the results.

TEXTJOIN Function #1

=TEXTJOIN("",FALSE,A2:C2)

It’s easy to concatenate strings in a range using the TEXTJOIN function. The result is redgreenblue.

TEXTJOIN Function #2

=TEXTJOIN(" ",FALSE,A3:C3)

You can even easily to concatenate with a space. The result is alfa beta charlie.

TEXTJOIN Function #3, TEXTJOIN Function #4

=TEXTJOIN("",TRUE,A4:C4)

=TEXTJOIN("",FALSE,A5:C5)

If you use empty text in delimiter argument, the ignore_empty argument has no affect in result, TRUE/FALSE the TEXTJOIN function result is the same.

TEXTJOIN Function #5, TEXTJOIN Function #6

=TEXTJOIN(",",TRUE,A6:C6)

=TEXTJOIN(",",FALSE,A7:C7)

You can see a different result is you fill delimiter argument with a text, it could be a space or another text. If the ignore_empty argument is TRUE then empty cell not included, if FALSE you will see the extra delimiter between text.

TEXTJOIN Function #7

=TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,A8:C10)

You can even easily combine text in a range consisting of several rows and columns.

The result is sun, mon, tue, wed, thu, fri, sat.

TEXTJOIN Example

Another Text Function

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What is the Excel CONCAT Function?

The excel CONCAT function combines all data; it could be a text, a number or a date. The result remains a text.

The advantage of the CONCAT function compared to the CONCATENATE function is allowing you to use the range address in the text argument. No need to type every cell address, just the range address.

CONCAT Syntax

CONCAT(text1, [text2],…)

text1, required, the first value to combine, you can use a range reference containing a text, a number or a date.

text2, optional, additional value to combine, handle up to 255 values and no more than 8,192 characters in a result.

How to Use CONCAT Function in Excel

The image below is an example of the CONCAT function usage and the results.

CONCAT Function #1

=CONCAT(A2:C2)

The result is redgreenblue. You can use the range address and make a simpler formula.

CONCAT Function #2

=CONCAT(A3," ",B3," ",C3)

The CONCAT function is unable to add a word separator. You have to type one by one if you want. In this condition, the CONCAT function is no different from the CONCATENATE function.

CONCAT Function #3

=CONCAT(A4:C4)

You can combine a text lotus and a number 123. The result remains a text, lotus123.

CONCAT Function #4

=CONCAT(A5:C5)

You can combine several numbers too (not add up) using the range address, the result is an alphanumeric 123456.

CONCAT Function #5

=CONCAT(A6:C6)

Why does a date 8/17/1945 when a combined change to 16666?

Excel stores date values in an integer number. The date 8/17/1945 is the result of an integer number formatted using mm/dd/yyyy date format, when combined using the CONCAT function the original value appears.

CONCAT Example

Another Text Function

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What is the Excel CONCATENATE Function?

The excel CONCATENATE function combines text or numbers into a text.

CONCATENATE Syntax

CONCATENATE(text1, [text2], ...)

text1, required, the first data to combine, it could be text, number or cell reference

text2, optional, additional data to combine, handle up to 255 data and up to 8,192 characters in a result.

How to Use CONCATENATE Function in Excel

Below is an example of the CONCATENATE function usage and the results.

CONCATENATE Function #1

=CONCATENATE(A2,B2,C2)

The result is redgreenblue; no spaces are separating them. You must enter the space as a separator in the text argument.

CONCATENATE Function #2

=CONCATENATE(A3:C3)

You can’t use a range address in the CONCATENATE function arguments, only individual cell addresses are allowed.

CONCATENATE Function #3

=CONCATENATE(A4," ",C4)

You can combine a text and a number. The result is Lotus 123, a text.

By the way, do any of you know what Lotus 123 is?

CONCATENATE Function #4

=CONCATENATE(A5,B5,C5)

You can combine numbers (not adding). The result is 123456, but a text.

CONCATENATE Function #5

=CONCATENATE(A6," ",B6," ",C6)

Why did 8/17/1945 change to the number 16666?

Excel stores date values in an integer number. If a date is combined with a text, then the integer number appears, to maintain the mm/dd/yyyy format, use the TEXT function.

Other Alternative CONCATENATE Function

Use ampersand & sign

The result is the same as the CONCATENATE function; there is no separator between words. If you want to have a separator, you must type one by one for each word.

Use the CONCAT function, a better alternative than CONCATENATE function

One advantage of the CONCAT function compared to the CONCATENATE function, you can use the range address in the text argument.

If there is text in cells to join, use CONCAT function and the range address, but CONCAT function still has a limitation, you can’t add a separator between two words.

Use TEXTJOIN function, the best choice for joining the text

The TEXTJOIN function is the best choice for combining the text. You can use the range address, and you can also add separators between words without having to input them repeatedly.

CONCATENATE Example

Another Text Function

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What is the Excel REPLACE Function?

The excel REPLACE function replaces the text based on a predetermined position.

REPLACE Syntax

REPLACE(old_text, start_num, num_chars, new_text)

old_text, required, the text in which you want to replace.

start_num, required, the starting position of the character to replace with the new_text.

num_chars, required, the number of characters to replace with the new_text.

Usage notes:

• If you do not know the position of the character to be changed, use the excel FIND function or excel SEARCH function to find its position.

How to Use REPLACE Function in Excel

The following is an example of the REPLACE function usage and the results.

REPLACE Function #1

=REPLACE(A2,B2,C2,D2)

The REPLACE function replaces 2 characters in position 1 with characters “19”. The result is 19-0001

REPLACE Function #2 – REPLACE Function #4

=REPLACE(A3,B3,C3,D3)

=REPLACE(A4,B4,C4,D4)

=REPLACE(A5,B5,C5,D5)

All functions return a #VALUE error. You can’t use negative numbers for the start_num and num_chars arguments. In addition to negative numbers, you can’t use zero number in the start_num argument.

REPLACE Function #5

=REPLACE(A6,B6,C6,D6)

If you use zero number for the num_chars argument the result is like adding new_text to old_text; no characters changed, where the new_text will be added depending on the value of the start_num argument.

REPLACE Function #6

=REPLACE(A7,B7,C7,D7)

If the start_num argument is greater than the text length, new_text will be added to the end of old_text. Regardless of the numbers entered in the num_chars argument, it does not affect the results.

REPLACE Example

Another Text Function

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What is the Excel SUBSTITUTE Function?

The excel SUBSTITUTE function replaces the old text to the new text by matching the same word. The SUBSTITUTE function works in case sensitive and has no support for a wildcard character.

SUBSTITUTE Syntax

SUBSTITUTE(text, old_text, new_text, [instance_num])

text, required, the text for which you want to change.

old_text, required, the text to replace.

new_text, required, the text to replace with.

instance_num, optional, which old_text occurrence you want to replace with new_text. If omitted, Excel replaces every occurrence of old_text to new_text.

How to Use SUBSTITUTE Function in Excel

The following is an example of the SUBSTITUTE function usage and the results.

SUBSTITUTE Function #1

=SUBSTITUTE(A2,B2,C2)

The instance_num argument is optional; if you omit the argument, then excel replaces all “g” letters to “d” letter.

The result is a doodle.

SUBSTITUTE Function #2

=SUBSTITUTE(A3,B3,C3,D3)

If you put number 1 in instance_num argument, then excel only replace the first “g” letter and ignores all the “g” letters afterward.

The result is doogle.

SUBSTITUTE Function #3

=SUBSTITUTE(A4,B4,C4)

There are two “the” words, first at the beginning of the sentence with the large “T” letter. Second in the middle of the sentence with all lowercase letters.

The SUBSTITUTE function works in case sensitive, replace only the word with the same letter. Excel replaces the second “the” word.

The result is The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over a Lazy Dog.

SUBSTITUTE Function #4

=SUBSTITUTE(A5,B5,C5)

There is no “THE” (all uppercase) word, the result has nothing to change, just like the text in cell A5.

SUBSTITUTE Function #5

=SUBSTITUTE(A6,B6,C6,D6)

The SUBSTITUTE function has no support for wildcard character. If there are “?” (question mark) or “*” (asterisk) character, Excel considers as “ordinary” character instead of a wildcard character.

There is no “g???” word in cell A6, the results remain unchanged, like the text in cell A6.

Difference between SUBSTITUTE and REPLACE in Excel

Besides the SUBSTITUTE function, Excel has another function to change the text, namely the REPLACE function. What is the difference between the SUBSTITUTE function and the REPLACE function?

The SUBSTITUTE function changes the text based on the specified word, while the REPLACE function changes the text based on the specified position.

If you know the word to be changed, use the SUBSTITUTE function. If you know the position of the text to be changed, use the REPLACE function.

SUBSTITUTE Example

Another Text Function

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What is the Excel REPT Function?

The excel REPT function repeats a text with a specified number of replications.

REPT Syntax

REPT(text, number_times)

text, required, the text to repeat.

number_times, required, a positive number to determine the number of times to repeat the text.

Usage Notes:

• REPT function returns empty text “” if number_times argument is zero.
• REPT function truncates any decimal number in number_times argument, use only the integer number.
• REPT function returns a #VALUE error if the repeated text longer than 32,767 characters.

How to Use REPT Function in Excel

Below is an example of REPT function usage and the results.

REPT Function #1

=REPT(A2,B2)

REPT function returns nothing If a number_times argument is zero or empty.

REPT Function #2

=REPT(A3,B3)

The result is an excel word, repeated twice without spaces.

REPT Function #3

=REPT(A4,B4)

The number_times argument must be a positive integer number. If you use a negative number, the result is a #VALUE! error.

REPT Function #4

=REPT(A5,B5)

If you use a positive decimal number, Excel truncates it and take the integer number. No round process, Excel truncates the decimal number and use the integer number.

The result is the word “go” is repeated three times, not four times.

REPT Function #5

=REPT(A6,B6)

The result is a #VALUE error.

No more than 31,767 characters for REPT function result. The word “Microsoft” which was repeated 3,641 times resulted in 32,769 characters length.

REPT Example

Another Text Function

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What is the Excel FIND Function?

The excel FIND function is looking for a text in another text. The FIND function has NO OPTION for wild card usage and does a case sensitive search.

FIND Syntax

FIND(find_text,within_text,[start_num])

find_text, required, text that you want to find.

within_text, required, text in which you want to find the find_text.

start_num, optional, starting position to find the find_text, the default is 1.

How to Use FIND Function in Excel

The following are examples of the FIND function usage and the results.

FIND Function #1

=FIND(A2,B2)

You can ignore the start_num argument, by default it will be 1. The result is 6, the position of “soft” text in the “Microsoft Excel” text.

FIND Function #2

=FIND(A3,B3,C3)

Why is the result not the same as FIND Function #1? Isn’t the “SOFT” text in the “Microsoft Excel” text?

The FIND function looking for in case sensitive way, in the “Microsoft Excel” text there is a “soft” text instead of a “SOFT” text.

FIND Function #3

=FIND(A4,B4,C4)

The result is #VALUE! error, because excel FIND function has no option for the wildcard. To search using wildcard option use the excel SEARCH function.

FIND Function #4

=FIND(A5,B5,C5)

Why is the result 14? Isn’t there “E” letter at position 11?

The FIND function searches in a case sensitive manner, so the “E” and “e” letter are two different things.

FIND Function #5

=FIND(A6,B6,C6)

The FIND function returns a #VALUE! error if the start_num argument contains a zero or a negative number.

FIND Function #6

=FIND(A7,B7,C7)

The result is #VALUE! error. No number greater than the length of the text. Use excel LEN function to determine how long is the text,

FIND Example

Another Text Function

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What is the Excel SEARCH Function?

The excel SEARCH function is looking for a text in another text. The SEARCH function does a case-insensitive search and allows the usage of the wild card.

SEARCH Syntax

SEARCH(find_text,within_text,[start_num])

find_text, required, text that you want to search.

within_text, required, text in which you want to search for the find_text.

start_num, optional, search starting position, the default is 1.

How to Use SEARCH Function in Excel

The following is an example of the SEARCH function usage and the results.

SEARCH Function #1

=SEARCH(A2,B2)

The start_num argument is optional, you can ignore it, by default is 1. The “Soft” text is in the 6th position in the “Microsoft Excel” text.

SEARCH Function #2

=SEARCH(A3,B3,C3)

You got the same result as SEARCH function #1. SEARCH functions do not distinguish uppercase or lowercase letters. SEARCH functions work in a case-insensitive manner.

SEARCH Function #3

=SEARCH(A4,B4,C4)

There is no “hard” text in the “Microsoft Excel” text. The result is #VALUE! error.

SEARCH Function #4

=SEARCH(A5,B5,C5)

SEARCH functions can search by using a wildcard. “?8” means looking for number 8 that has one character before, whatever the character, could be letters, numbers or punctuation.

The result is 11, at that position, there is number 7, a character before number 8.

SEARCH Function #5

=SEARCH(A6,B6,C6)

Why does the wildcard “*8” return a different result from the wildcard “?8”?

Wildcard “?” requires a character representing the wildcard “?”, Whatever the character is. While the wildcard “*” can represent one character, two characters or even no characters at all.

In position 1, there is number 8 without any previous characters. Isn’t the number 8 at position 12 included in the search criteria? That’s right, but the SEARCH function returns only for the first occurrence.

SEARCH Function #6

=SEARCH(A7,B7,C7)

There are two C letters in the “Microsoft Excel” text. The SEARCH function returns the first C letter position, the 3rd letter.

SEARCH Function #7

=SEARCH(A8,B8,C8)

The SEARCH function returns a #VALUE! error, because the start_num argument contains zero number. You got the same error if you put a negative number on the start_num argument.

SEARCH Function #8

=SEARCH(A9,B9,C9)

#VALUE! error appears if the start_num argument is greater than the length of the text.

SEARCH Example

Another Text Function

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What is the Excel MID Function?

The excel MID function extracts a certain number of texts from the specified position.

The MID function acts like the LEFT function if it takes characters from the first position or works like the RIGHT function if the number of characters taken reaches the end of the text.

MID Syntax

MID(text, start_num, num_chars)

text, required, the text containing the characters to extract from.

start_num, required, the first character position to extract.

num_char, required, the number of characters to extract.

How to Use MID Function in Excel

The following is an example of the MID function usage and the results.

MID Function #1

=MID(A2,12,5)

You got nothing it start_num argument greater then text length.

MID Function #2

=MID(A3,8,1000)

If num_char argument exceeds the text length, whatever the number you get the characters up to the end of the text.

MID Function #3

=MID(A4,0,6)

#VALUE! error appears if the start_num argument is smaller than 1, it could be 0 (zero) or a negative number.

MID Function #4

=MID(A5,1,6)

The MID function returns the same value as the LEFT function if start_num argument is equal to 1.

The MID Function #4 result is the same as the LEFT(A5,6) formula.

MID Function #5

=MID(A6,8,4)

The results of the MID function and the RIGHT function are the same if the num_char argument plus start_num argument is equal to the text length.

The MID function #5 result is the same as the RIGHT(A6,4) formula.

MID Function #6

=MID(A7,2,2)

The MID function can extract from a number too.

MID Function #7

=MID(A8,2,2)

Alphanumeric is not a problem for the MID function, because alphanumeric is a text.

MID Function #8

=MID(A9,2,2)

The MID function returns the same results for numbers 123456 and “Wednesday, January 3, 2238”. Why? Because Excel stores date in an integer number. “Wednesday, January 3, 2238” is the result of “Format cells” menu. The real value is an integer number 123456.

The MID function extracts the number but ignores the cell format.

MID Function #9

=MID(A10,2,2)

Why are the results of MID Function #9 and #10 not the same? Because cell A9 contains a date and cell A10 contains a text.

“Wednesday, January 3, 2238” in cell A9 is the result of the format cell menu while in cell A10 is the real value.

MID Function #10

=MID(A11,2,4)

Just like integer numbers, the MID function can extract decimal numbers and assuming decimal separators as one character.

MID Function #11

=MID(A12,2,4)

The results are like MID Function #10. Excel stores date value in integer number, while for time value excel stores as a decimal number.

If you format 2:57:46 AM to number-general the result is 0.12345.

MID Example

Another Text Function

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What is the Excel RIGHT Function?

The excel RIGHT function takes a number of characters in the text from the right.

RIGHT Syntax

RIGHT(text, [num_chars])

text, required, the text from which to extract the characters.

num_chars, optional, specifies the number of characters to extract.

• If the num_char argument omitted, it is assumed to be 1.
• If the num_chars argument larger than the text length, the RIGHT function returns the text itself.
• If the num_char argument is a negative number, the RIGHT function returns a #VALUE! error

How to Use RIGHT Function in Excel

The following are examples of the RIGHT function usage and the results.

RIGHT Function #1

=RIGHT(A2,0)

The RIGHT function returns nothing if the num_char argument is equal to 0.

RIGHT Function #2

=RIGHT(A3,3)

You get three letters taken from the rightmost position of cell A3.

RIGHT Function #3

=RIGHT(A4,1000)

If the num_char argument contains a number and larger than the text length, the result is the text itself.

RIGHT Function #4

=RIGHT(A5,-1)

You get a #VALUE! error if you put a negative number on the num_char argument.

RIGHT Function #5

=RIGHT(A6,2)

The RIGHT function able to extract from alphanumeric values, because alphanumeric is a number stored as text.

RIGHT Function #6

=RIGHT(A7,2)

The RIGHT function able to extract data from a number and the result is an alphanumeric value.

RIGHT Function #7

=RIGHT(A8,2)

If a number has been formatted in a certain format, the RIGHT function only extracts the numbers and ignores the format.

RIGHT Function #8

=RIGHT(A9,2)

Why did the RIGHT function return the same result for date 2/29/2020 and number 43890? Because Excel stores date values in integer numbers. 2/29/2020 is the cell format. The actual data is number 43890.

As mentioned before the RIGHT function only takes the numbers and ignores the format.

RIGHT Function #9

=RIGHT(A10,2)

Why the RIGHT function returns the different result for cell A9 and cell A10?

Look carefully at the date in cell A9, by default right aligned if you see in the formula bar, no quotes in front of it. It means cell A9 contains a date value.

While date in cell A10 by default left aligned, if you see in the formula bar, there is a single quote in front of the “date”. It means cell A10 contains a text value. The RIGHT function will extract two characters from the right; the result is 20.

RIGHT Function #10

=RIGHT(A11,3)

The RIGHT function can extract a decimal number and consider the decimal separator as one character, not a formatted cell that is ignored.

RIGHT Function #11

=RIGHT(A12,3)

4:29:17 PM returns the same result as number 0.687. Why? Because Excel stores times value as decimal numbers.

RIGHT Example

Another Text Function

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