Text Functions (LEFT, RIGHT, MID, TRIM)

Last reviewed Jun 1, 2026 Content v20260601

Track mode

none

Means

Read / quiz

Reading

~1 min

Level

intermediate

This lesson

This lesson teaches Text Functions (LEFT, RIGHT, MID, TRIM): Excel concepts, formulas, and analysis patterns you recreate locally in a workbook.

Teams apply Text Functions (LEFT, RIGHT, MID, TRIM) in every serious Excel workflow—skipping it leaves errors in models stakeholders trust.

You will apply Text Functions (LEFT, RIGHT, MID, TRIM) in contexts like: Finance, operations, reporting, and quick what-if analysis before a full BI stack.

Read the lesson, type formulas in your local Excel or compatible spreadsheet, rebuild examples in excel-practice.xlsx, and complete MCQs—no in-browser runner.

When you can explain the previous lesson's ideas in your own words.

Clean messy exports with text functions before lookups and pivots.

Examples

=TRIM(A2)
=LEFT(A2,3)
=RIGHT(A2,4)
=MID(A2,2,5)
=TEXT(B2,"yyyy-mm-dd")

CONCAT / TEXTJOIN

=TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,C2:E2)   ' Excel 365'

Split columns

Data → Text to Columns for one-time splits; formulas for repeatable pipelines.

Important interview questions and answers

Q: TRIM?
A: Removes extra spaces.
Q: TEXTJOIN?
A: Joins range with delimiter, can ignore blanks.

Self-check

What does TRIM do?
When prefer Text to Columns vs formulas?

Tip: TEXTJOIN beats nested CONCATENATE for dynamic columns.

Interview prep

TRIM?: Removes extra spaces from text.

Discussion

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Starter discussion topics

TRIM when?
TEXTJOIN vs CONCAT?

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