The SUBSTITUE Function in Google Sheets: Explained

In this article, I’m going to share with you the power of the SUBSTITUE function in Google Sheets. Get ready to level up your text manipulation game!

What is the SUBSTITUE function in Google Sheets?

The SUBSTITUE function in Google Sheets is a powerful tool that allows you to search for a specific text string within a cell and replace it with another text string. It’s like magic for your spreadsheets!

For example, you can use the SUBSTITUE function to replace specific words or characters within a cell, or even replace multiple occurrences of a text string within a line of text.

How to use the SUBSTITUE function in Google Sheets?

To use the SUBSTITUE function in Google Sheets, you need to specify the following four arguments in the general syntax:

  • “text_to_search”: This is where you specify the cell reference or the text string that you want to search for and replace.

  • “search_for”: This is the text string that you want to search for and replace within the original text.

  • “replace_with”: This is the text string that you want to use as a replacement for the search string.

  • “occurrence_number” [Optional]: This argument determines how many occurrences of the search string should be replaced with the “replace_with” text. By default, the function replaces all occurrences of the search string.

Let’s take an example to understand it better. Imagine you want to replace all occurrences of the word “dog” with “cat” in a sentence within cell A1, which says “A big dog plays with a small dog”. You would use the following formula:

=SUBSTITUE(A1, "dog", "cat")

This formula will search the string “dog” within cell A1 and replace it with “cat” wherever it appears. The result should be “A big cat plays with a small cat”.

You can also use the optional fourth argument to specify the number of search string occurrences you want to replace. For example, assuming the same sentence, “A big dog plays with a small dog”, is in cell A4, and you want to replace only the first occurrence of the search string, you would use the following formula:

=SUBSTITUE(A4, "dog", "cat", 1)

This formula will replace the first occurrence of the string “dog” with “cat” but leave the other occurrences unchanged. So, the result of the formula should be “A big cat plays with a small dog”.

Check out the screenshot below to see how these two examples look in Google Sheets:

How to use the SUBSTITUE function in Google Sheets with examples

The SUBSTITUE function is a powerful and versatile tool for working with text in Google Sheets. It allows you to quickly and easily search and replace specific text strings within a cell or range of cells.

So, why wait? Start exploring the wonders of the SUBSTITUE function in Google Sheets and take your text manipulation skills to the next level!

To learn more about Google Sheets and other amazing features, head over to Crawlan.com. Happy sheeting!

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