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SUBSTITUTE
Substitutes new_text for old_text in a text string. Use SUBSTITUTE when you want to replace specific text in a text string; use REPLACE when you want to replace any text that occurs in a specific location in a text string.
Syntax
SUBSTITUTE(text,old_text,new_text,instance_num)
Text is the text or the reference to a cell containing text for which you want to substitute characters.
Old_text is the text you want to replace.
New_text is the text you want to replace old_text with.
Instance_num specifies which occurrence of old_text you want to replace with new_text. If you specify instance_num, only that instance of old_text is replaced. Otherwise, every occurrence of old_text in text is changed to new_text.
Example
The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank spreadsheet.
How?
- Create a blank spreadsheet.
- Select the example in the Help topic.
Selecting an example from Help
- Press CTRL+C.
- In the spreadsheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
- To switch between viewing the formula that returns the result and the result in the cell, select the cell and press F2 and then ENTER, or click Commands and Options on the spreadsheet toolbar, click the Formula tab, and look in the Formula in active cell (active cell) box.
| Data | |
|---|---|
| Sales Data | |
| Quarter 1, 2008 | |
| Quarter 1, 2011 | |
| Formula | Description (Result) |
| =SUBSTITUTE(A2, "Sales", "Cost") | Substitutes Cost for Sales (Cost Data) |
| =SUBSTITUTE(A3, "1", "2", 1) | Substitutes first instance of "1" with "2" (Quarter 2, 2008) |
| =SUBSTITUTE(A4, "1", "2", 3) | Substitutes third instance of "1" with "2" (Quarter 1, 2012) |