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Advanced Excel Statistical - MID Function
Description
MID returns a specific number of characters from a text string, starting at the position you specify, based on the number of characters you specify.
MIDB returns a specific number of characters from a text string, starting at the position you specify, based on the number of bytes you specify.
MID is intended for use with languages that use the single-byte character set (SBCS), whereas MIDB is intended for use with languages that use the double-byte character set (DBCS). The default language setting on your computer affects the return value as follows
MID always counts each character, whether single-byte or double-byte, as 1, no matter what is the default language setting.
MIDB counts each double-byte character as 2 when you have enabled the editing of a language that supports DBCS and then set it as the default language. Otherwise, MIDB counts each character as 1.
The languages that support DBCS include Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), and Korean.
Syntax
MID (text, start_num, num_chars) MIDB (text, start_num, num_bytes)
Arguments
| Argument | Description | Required/ Optional |
|---|---|---|
| Text | The text string containing the characters you want to extract. | Required |
| Start_num |
The position of the first character you want to extract in text. The first character in text has start_num 1, and so on. |
Required |
| Num_chars | Specifies the number of characters you want MID to return from text. | Required |
| Num_bytes | Specifies the number of characters you want MIDB to return from text, in bytes. | Required |
Notes
If start_num is greater than the length of text, MID returns "" (empty text).
If start_num is less than the length of text, but start_num plus num_chars exceeds the length of text, MID returns the characters up to the end of text.
If start_num is less than 1, MID returns the #VALUE! error value.
If num_chars is negative, MID returns the #VALUE! error value.
If num_bytes is negative, MIDB returns the #VALUE! error value.
Applicability
Excel 2007, Excel 2010, Excel 2013, Excel 2016
Example
