Left Function

Description

Returns a specified number of characters from the left side of a string.

Syntax

Left(string,length)

The Left function syntax has these named-argument parts:

Part	Description

*string*	String expression from which the leftmost characters are returned. If *string* contains no valid data, Null is returned.
*length*	Numeric expression indicating how many characters to return. If 0, a zero-length string is returned. If greater than or equal to the number of characters in *string*, the entire string is returned.

Remarks

To determine the number of characters in string, use the Len function.

Note

Another function (LeftB) is provided for use with the double-byte character sets (DBCS) used in some Asian locales. Instead of specifying the number of characters to return, length specifies the number of bytes. In areas where DBCS is not used, LeftB behaves the same as Left.

See Also

Len Function, Mid Function, Right Function.

Example

This example uses the Left function to return a specified number of characters from the left side of a string.

AnyString = "Hello World"    ' Define string.
MyStr = Left(AnyString, 1)    ' Returns "H".
MyStr = Left(AnyString, 7)    ' Returns "Hello W".
MyStr = Left(AnyString, 20)    ' Returns "Hello World".