How to Use the SEARCH Function in Excel (FIND vs SEARCH Function)

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In this tutorial, we will learn about the SEARCH function in Excel and how it can help us find the location of text within another cell.

The SEARCH function is similar to the FIND function, as it returns the position of the first character of the find text within the text.

However, there are a few differences between the two functions. The SEARCH function can perform case-insensitive searches and allows wildcard searches, which means that it can find text regardless of whether it is in uppercase or lowercase and can use special characters to match a set of characters.

How to Use the SEARCH Function in Excel – Step-by-Step Instructions:

  1. To use the SEARCH function in Excel, start by typing “=SEARCH(” in the cell where you want the result to appear.
  2. The SEARCH function takes two arguments: the text that you want to find and the text in which you want to find it. Type the text or the cell reference for the text that you want to find as the first argument and then type the text in which you want to find it as the second argument.
  3. Close the brackets and press enter to see the result.
  4. If you want to perform a case-insensitive search, you can use the “SEARCH” function along with the “LOWER” function. The “LOWER” function converts the text to lowercase, and the “SEARCH” function will find the text regardless of whether it is in uppercase or lowercase.
  5. If you want to perform a wildcard search, for example, you can use the “SEARCH” function along with the “?,” character. The “?” character matches any single character. An example is below where we have added the wildcard to the cell in the “Find This” column:

Here is an example of differences in output between the find and search function in Excel:

Conclusion

The SEARCH function is a useful tool in Excel that allows us to find the location of a text string within another text string. We can perform case-insensitive searches and wildcard searches using this function, making it easier to find specific text within large datasets. Understanding how to use the SEARCH function can save us a lot of time and effort when working with a lot of text data in Excel.

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