Left, LeftB
Returns a String containing a specified number of characters from the left side of a string.
Syntax:
- Left$( string, length ), Left( string, length )
- LeftB$( string, length ), LeftB( string, length )
- string
- required String expression from which the leftmost characters are returned. If string contains Null, Null is returned.
- length
- required Variant (Long). Numeric expression indicating how many characters to return. If 0, a zero-length string (
"") is returned. If greater than or equal to the number of characters in string, the entire string is returned.
The $-suffixed forms return a String; the unsuffixed forms return a Variant (String).
To determine the number of characters in string, use the Len function.
Note
Use the LeftB function with byte data contained in a string. Instead of specifying the number of characters to return, length specifies the number of bytes.
Common Errors
| Error | When |
|---|---|
5 (&H5), Invalid procedure call or argument | length is negative Left or Left$ is given a length greater than 1,073,741,823 |
94 (&H5E), Invalid use of Null | Left$ or LeftB$ is given a string that is Null, or any form is given a length that is Null |
Example
This example uses the Left function to return a specified number of characters from the left side of a string.
Dim AnyString, MyStr
AnyString = "Hello World" ' Define string.
MyStr = Left(AnyString, 1) ' Returns "H".
MyStr = Left(AnyString, 7) ' Returns "Hello W".
MyStr = Left(AnyString, 20) ' Returns "Hello World".