--- title: "TEXTBEFORE function in Excel: syntax and examples | PracticeExcel" description: "How to use TEXTBEFORE in Excel 365: the first name, the user name in an email, or everything before the last slash, with examples." canonical_url: "https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textbefore" locale: en meta: "og:description": "How to use TEXTBEFORE in Excel 365: the first name, the user name in an email, or everything before the last slash, with examples." "og:image": "https://practiceexcelonline.com/_og/d/c_Page%2Ctitle_~VEVYVEJFRk9SRSBmdW5jdGlvbiBpbiBFeGNlbDogc3ludGF4IGFuZCBleGFtcGxlcw%2Cdescription_~SG93IHRvIHVzZSBURVhUQkVGT1JFIGluIEV4Y2VsIDM2NTogdGhlIGZpcnN0IG5hbWUsIHRoZSB1c2VyIG5hbWUgaW4gYW4gZW1haWwsIG9yIGV2ZXJ5dGhpbmcgYmVmb3JlIHRoZSBsYXN0IHNsYXNoLCB3aXRoIGV4YW1wbGVzLg%2Ceyebrow_Excel%2Bfunctions%2Csite_practiceexcel%2Ccode_~VEVYVEJFRk9SRSh0ZXh0LCBkZWxpbWl0ZXIsIFtpbnN0YW5jZV9udW1dLCBbbWF0Y2hfbW9kZV0sIFttYXRjaF9lbmRdLCBbaWZfbm90X2ZvdW5kXSk%2Cp_Ii9mdW5jdGlvbnMvdGV4dGJlZm9yZSI%2Cs_18uZ2-iwcRnYY2dm.png" "og:image:height": "600" "og:image:type": image/png "og:image:width": "1200" "og:title": "TEXTBEFORE function in Excel: syntax and examples | PracticeExcel" "twitter:image": "https://practiceexcelonline.com/_og/d/c_Page%2Ctitle_~VEVYVEJFRk9SRSBmdW5jdGlvbiBpbiBFeGNlbDogc3ludGF4IGFuZCBleGFtcGxlcw%2Cdescription_~SG93IHRvIHVzZSBURVhUQkVGT1JFIGluIEV4Y2VsIDM2NTogdGhlIGZpcnN0IG5hbWUsIHRoZSB1c2VyIG5hbWUgaW4gYW4gZW1haWwsIG9yIGV2ZXJ5dGhpbmcgYmVmb3JlIHRoZSBsYXN0IHNsYXNoLCB3aXRoIGV4YW1wbGVzLg%2Ceyebrow_Excel%2Bfunctions%2Csite_practiceexcel%2Ccode_~VEVYVEJFRk9SRSh0ZXh0LCBkZWxpbWl0ZXIsIFtpbnN0YW5jZV9udW1dLCBbbWF0Y2hfbW9kZV0sIFttYXRjaF9lbmRdLCBbaWZfbm90X2ZvdW5kXSk%2Cp_Ii9mdW5jdGlvbnMvdGV4dGJlZm9yZSI%2Cs_18uZ2-iwcRnYY2dm.png" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://practiceexcelonline.com/llms.txt) # **The TEXTBEFORE function** Returns the text before a delimiter, such as everything before the @ in an email address. You can choose which occurrence of the delimiter to use. = TEXTBEFORE( ## **Syntax** ``` TEXTBEFORE(text, delimiter, [instance_num], [match_mode], [match_end], [if_not_found]) ```
**text **
The text to search.
**delimiter **
The character or text to stop at.
**instance_num **(optional)
Which occurrence to use. 1 or left out for the first, 2 for the second, -1 for the last.
**match_mode **(optional)
1 to ignore upper and lower case. Left out, 0, which matches case.
**match_end **(optional)
1 to treat the end of the text as a delimiter. Left out, 0.
**if_not_found **(optional)
What to return when the delimiter is missing. Left out,
## **Examples** C1`=TEXTBEFORE(1A2,2"@")` | | A | B | C | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Email | | **ann.berg** | | 2 | ann.berg@example.com | | | **In plain words:** Return the text in 1the email address in A2 that comes 2before the @. B1=TEXTBEFORE("2024-03-15","-",2) | | A | B | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | | **2024-03** | B1=TEXTBEFORE("C:/Reports/2024/sales.xlsx","/",-1) | | A | B | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | | **C:/Reports/2024** | ## **Practice TEXTBEFORE** - [**1****Take the first name with TEXTBEFORE**→](https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice/substitute-textbefore-textafter/textbefore-first-name) - [**2****Flip "Last, First" with TEXTAFTER**→](https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice/substitute-textbefore-textafter/textafter-flip-names) - [**3****Take the text between parentheses**→](https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice/substitute-textbefore-textafter/text-between-parentheses) ## **Questions**
### Why does TEXTBEFORE return The delimiter is not in the text. Give a fallback as the last argument, as in =TEXTBEFORE(A2," ",,,,A2), to return the whole text when there is no space.
### How do I do the same in older versions of Excel? Combine LEFT and FIND, as in =LEFT(A2,FIND("@",A2)-1). FIND gives the position of the @, and LEFT takes everything before it.
## **Related functions** - [**TEXTAFTER**](https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textafter) - [**TEXTSPLIT**](https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textsplit) - [**LEFT**](https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/left) - [**FIND**](https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/find) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#identity","@type":"Organization","name":"PracticeExcel","url":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/","logo":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#logo"}},{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#website","@type":"WebSite","inLanguage":"en-US","name":"PracticeExcel","url":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/","alternateName":["Practice Excel Online","PracticeExcelOnline.com"],"publisher":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#identity"},"workTranslation":{"@id":"https://excelopgaver.dk/#website"}},{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textbefore#webpage","description":"How to use TEXTBEFORE in Excel 365: the first name, the user name in an email, or everything before the last slash, with examples.","name":"TEXTBEFORE function in Excel: syntax and examples","url":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textbefore","@type":["WebPage","FAQPage"],"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textbefore#breadcrumb"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#website"},"mainEntity":[{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textbefore#/schema/question/1"},{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textbefore#/schema/question/2"}],"potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textbefore"]}],"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#logo"}},{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textbefore#breadcrumb","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","name":"Home","item":"https://practiceexcelonline.com","position":1},{"@type":"ListItem","name":"Excel functions","item":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions","position":2},{"@type":"ListItem","name":"TEXTBEFORE function in Excel: syntax and examples","position":3}]},{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textbefore#article","description":"How to use TEXTBEFORE in Excel 365: the first name, the user name in an email, or everything before the last slash, with examples.","headline":"TEXTBEFORE function in Excel: syntax and examples","inLanguage":"en-US","thumbnailUrl":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/_og/d/c_Page%2Ctitle_~VEVYVEJFRk9SRSBmdW5jdGlvbiBpbiBFeGNlbDogc3ludGF4IGFuZCBleGFtcGxlcw%2Cdescription_~SG93IHRvIHVzZSBURVhUQkVGT1JFIGluIEV4Y2VsIDM2NTogdGhlIGZpcnN0IG5hbWUsIHRoZSB1c2VyIG5hbWUgaW4gYW4gZW1haWwsIG9yIGV2ZXJ5dGhpbmcgYmVmb3JlIHRoZSBsYXN0IHNsYXNoLCB3aXRoIGV4YW1wbGVzLg%2Ceyebrow_Excel%2Bfunctions%2Csite_practiceexcel%2Ccode_~VEVYVEJFRk9SRSh0ZXh0LCBkZWxpbWl0ZXIsIFtpbnN0YW5jZV9udW1dLCBbbWF0Y2hfbW9kZV0sIFttYXRjaF9lbmRdLCBbaWZfbm90X2ZvdW5kXSk%2Cp_Ii9mdW5jdGlvbnMvdGV4dGJlZm9yZSI%2Cs_18uZ2-iwcRnYY2dm.png","@type":["Article","TechArticle"],"author":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#identity"},"image":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#/schema/image/1"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textbefore#webpage"},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textbefore#webpage"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#identity"}},{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/functions/textbefore#/schema/question/1","@type":"Question","inLanguage":"en-US","name":"Why does TEXTBEFORE return","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The delimiter is not in the text. 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