SEARCHB

• How to use SEARCHB formula?
• Examples of using SEARCHB formula
• SEARCHB formula not working?
• Similar formulas to SEARCHB

Usage

Use the SEARCHB formula with the syntax shown below, it has 2 required parameters and 1 optional parameter:

=SEARCHB(search_for, text_to_search, [starting_at])

1. search_for (required):
   The text string that you want to search for within the larger text string. This parameter can be either a string itself, or a reference to a cell containing the string.
2. text_to_search (required):
   The larger text string that you want to search within. This parameter can be either a string itself, or a reference to a cell containing the string.
3. starting_at (optional):
   An optional parameter that specifies the position within the larger text string to start the search from. If this parameter is not provided, the search will begin at the first character of the larger text string.

Examples

Finding a keyword within a string

You have a large set of data, and you want to find all instances of a specific keyword within a text string within that data. You can use the SEARCHB formula to do this, and then use other formulas like COUNTIF or SUMIF to manipulate the resulting values.

Extracting a substring from a larger string

You have a large text string, and you want to extract a smaller substring from it based on some criteria. You can use the SEARCHB formula in combination with MID or LEFT/RIGHT to extract the desired substring.

Checking if a string contains a specific substring

You want to check if a larger text string contains a specific substring, and return a boolean value indicating whether or not it does. You can use the SEARCHB formula to do this, and then use an IF statement to return the appropriate value.

Common Mistakes

Not using double-byte character

If you are searching for a double-byte character, make sure to use the double-byte version of that character in the search_for argument.

Not using quotes around text to search

If you are searching for a string of text, make sure to use quotes around the text_to_search argument.

Not accounting for starting position

If you want to search for a character or string starting at a specific position in the text string, make sure to include the starting_at argument and specify the starting position.

Related Formulas

The following functions are similar to SEARCHB or are often used with it in a formula:

• SEARCH

  The SEARCH formula is used to find the position of a piece of text within a larger string of text. It returns the position of the first character of the searched text in the text being searched. This formula is case-insensitive, meaning it will find all instances of the searched text regardless of capitalization.

• FIND

  The FIND formula in Google Sheets searches for a specific text within another text and returns the position of the first occurrence of the text. This formula is often used to extract a substring from a larger string or to check if a certain text exists within another text.

• MATCH

  The MATCH formula is used to search for a specified value within a range and returns the relative position of the value within the range. This formula is commonly used in conjunction with the INDEX formula to retrieve a value from a specific cell in a range. The search_type parameter is optional and determines the type of match to be performed, such as exact match, less than, or greater than.

• LEFT

  The LEFT formula is used to extract a specific number of characters from the beginning of a text string. It is most commonly used to extract the first name or last name from a full name or to extract a date from a text string.

• RIGHT

  The RIGHT formula in Google Sheets returns the rightmost characters from a string, based on the number of characters specified. It is commonly used to extract a certain number of characters from the end of a string. The formula takes two arguments: the string from which to extract the characters, and the number of characters to extract.

Learn More

You can learn more about the SEARCHB Google Sheets function on Google Support.