Google Sheetsspreadsheet~10 mins

LEFT, RIGHT, MID in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

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Sample Data

This data shows dessert names in column A.

Cell	Value
A1	ApplePie
A2	BananaSplit
A3	CherryTart

Formula Trace

=LEFT(A1,5) & "-" & RIGHT(A2,5) & "-" & MID(A3,7,4)

Step 1: LEFT(A1,5)

Step 2: RIGHT(A2,5)

Step 3: MID(A3,7,4)

Step 4: "Apple" & "-" & "Split" & "-" & "Tart"

Cell Reference Map

     A       
1 | ApplePie  
2 | BananaSplit
3 | CherryTart

Formula references A1, A2, and A3 cells.

Cells A1, A2, and A3 contain the dessert names used by LEFT, RIGHT, and MID functions.

Result

     A           B
1 | ApplePie  | Apple-Split-Tart
2 | BananaSplit|
3 | CherryTart|

The formula in B1 shows 'Apple-Split-Tart' combining parts from A1, A2, and A3.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

Test your understanding

What does LEFT(A1,5) return if A1 contains 'ApplePie'?

APie

BApple

CApplePie

Key Result

LEFT(text, n) extracts first n characters; RIGHT(text, n) extracts last n characters; MID(text, start, length) extracts substring from start position with given length.