Extracting specific substrings from raw CSV exports used to require nesting FIND, SEARCH, LEFT, and MID functions inside an unreadable formula block. Excel modern text functions eliminate that complexity with plain syntax that targets delimiters directly.
Isolate Delimited Values in One Step
To extract everything before a dash or underscore, use `=TEXTBEFORE(A2, "-")`. If your target data contains multiple delimiters, pass an array like `{"-", "_"}` as the delimiter parameter to catch both variations in a single pass.
Combine Extraction with TRIM for Flawless Formatting
Imported data often carries invisible trailing spaces that disrupt subsequent lookups and pivots. Nesting your extraction formula inside TRIM, such as `=TRIM(TEXTAFTER(A2, ":"))`, guarantees clean textual output ready for immediate analysis.
Handle Missing Delimiters Without Formula Errors
When a row lacks the targeted character, default behavior returns a value error. Set the `if_not_found` parameter inside TEXTBEFORE or TEXTAFTER to return the original cell contents or a custom blank string.