Searches a string from left to right and returns the leftmost characters of the string.

Syntax

@Left( stringToSearch ; numberOfChars )
@Left( stringToSearch ; subString )

Parameters

stringToSearch

Text or text list. The string where you want to find the leftmost characters.

Number. The number of characters to return. If the number is 2, the first two characters of the string are returned; if the number is 5, the first five characters are returned, and so on. If the number is negative, the entire string is returned.

Text. A substring of stringToSearch. @Left returns the characters to the left of subString. It finds subString by searching stringToSearch from left to right.

resultString

Text or text list. The leftmost characters in stringToSearch. The number of characters returned is determined by either numberOfChars or subString. @Left returns "" if subString is not found in stringToSearch.

If the first parameter is a list, the function operates on each element of the list, and the return value is a list with the same number of elements.

Language cross-reference

Left function of LotusScript language

StrLeft function of LotusScript language

Example
See Also

@Begins
@Contains
@Ends
@LeftBack
@Middle
@MiddleBack
@Right
@RightBack
Locating and extracting substrings
Examples: Writing formulas that perform actions
"Creating an alphabetical navigation bar" on Tips from the Lotus Developer Domain
"Anatomy of a Domino e-commerce Web site (Part 2)" on the Lotus Developer Domain
"Simplifying your LotusScript with the Evaluate statement" on the Lotus Developer Domain
"Gathering feedback on your Web site" on the Lotus Developer Domain

Glossary