
- Excel Functions - Home
- Compatibility Functions
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- FLOOR Function
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- GAMMADIST Function
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- HYPGEOMDIST Function
- LOGINV Function
- LOGNORMDIST Function
- MODE Function
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- NORMDIST Function
- NORMINV Function
- NORMSDIST Function
- NORMSINV Function
- PERCENTILE Function
- PERCENTRANK Function
- POISSON Function
- QUARTILE Function
- RANK Function
- STDEV Function
- STDEVP Function
- TDIST Function
- TINV Function
- TTEST Function
- VAR Function
- VARP Function
- WEIBULL Function
- ZTEST Function
- Logical Functions
- Logical Functions
- AND Function
- FALSE Function
- IF Function
- IFERROR Function
- IFNA Function
- IFS Function
- NOT Function
- OR Function
- SWITCH Function
- TRUE Function
- XOR Function
- Text Functions
- Text Functions
- ARRAYTOTEXT Function
- BAHTTEXT Function
- CHAR Function
- CLEAN Function
- CODE Function
- CONCAT Function
- CONCATENATE Function
- DBCS Function
- DOLLAR Function
- Exact Function
- FIND Function
- FINDB Function
- FIXED Function
- LEFT Function
- LEFTB Function
- LEN Function
- LENB Function
- LOWER Function
- MID Function
- MIDB Function
- NUMBERVALUE Function
- PHONETIC Function
- PROPER Function
- REPLACE Function
- REPLACEB Function
- REPT Function
- RIGHT Function
- RIGHTB Function
- SEARCH Function
- SEARCHB Function
- SUBSTITUTE Function
- T Function
- TEXT Function
- TEXTAFTER Function
- TEXTBEFORE Function
- TEXTJOIN Function
- TEXTSPLIT Function
- TRIM Function
- UNICHAR Function
- UNICODE Function
- UPPER Function
- VALUE Function
- VALUETOTEXT Function
- Date & Time Functions
- Date & Time Functions
- DATE Function
- DATEDIF Function
- DATEVALUE Function
- DAY Function
- DAYS Function
- DAYS360 Function
- EDATE Function
- EOMONTH Function
- HOUR Function
- ISOWEEKNUM Function
- MINUTE Function
- MONTH Function
- NETWORKDAYS Function
- NETWORKDAYS.INTL Function
- NOW Function
- SECOND Function
- TIME Function
- TIMEVALUE Function
- TODAY Function
- WEEKDAY Function
- WEEKNUM Function
- WORKDAY Function
- WORKDAY.INTL Function
- YEAR Function
- YEARFRAC Function
- Cube Functions
- Cube Functions
- CUBEKPIMEMBER Function
- CUBEMEMBER Function
- CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY Function
- CUBERANKEDMEMBER Function
- CUBESET Function
- CUBESETCOUNT Function
- CUBEVALUE Function
- Math Functions
- Math Functions
- ABS Function
- AGGREGATE Function
- ARABIC Function
- BASE Function
- CEILING.MATH Function
- COMBIN Function
- COMBINA Function
- DECIMAL Function
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- EVEN Function
- EXP Function
- FACT Function
- FACTDOUBLE Function
- FLOOR.MATH Function
- GCD Function
- INT Function
- LCM Function
- LN Function
- LOG Function
- LOG10 Function
- MDETERM Function
- MINVERSE Function
- MMULT Function
- MOD Function
- MROUND Function
- MULTINOMIAL Function
- MUNIT Function
- ODD Function
- PI Function
- POWER Function
- PRODUCT Function
- QUOTIENT Function
- RADIANS Function
- RAND Function
- RANDBETWEEN Function
- ROMAN Function
- ROUND Function
- ROUNDDOWN Function
- ROUNDUP Function
- SERIESSUM Function
- SIGN Function
- SQRT Function
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- SUBTOTAL Function
- SUM Function
- SUMIF Function
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- SUMX2MY2 Function
- SUMX2PY2 Function
- SUMXMY2 Function
- TRUNC Function
- Trigonometric Functions
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- ACOS
- ACOSH Function
- ACOT Function
- ACOTH Function
- ASIN Function
- ASINH Function
- ATAN Function
- ATAN2 Function
- ATANH Function
- COS Function
- COSH Function
- COT Function
- COTH Function
- CSC Function
- CSCH Function
- SEC Function
- SECH Function
- SIN Function
- SINH Function
- TAN Function
- TANH Function
- Database Functions
- Database Functions
- DAVERAGE
- DCOUNT
- DCOUNTA
- DGET
- DMAX
- DMIN
- DPRODUCT
- DSTDEV
- DSTDEVP
- DSUM
- DVAR
- DVARP
- Dynamic Array Functions
- Dynamic Array Functions
- FILTER Function
- RANDARRAY Function
- SEQUENCE Function
- SORT Function
- SORTBY Function
- UNIQUE Function
- XLOOKUP Function
- XMATCH Function
- Engineering Functions
- Engineering Functions
- BESSELI Function
- BESSELJ Function
- BESSELK Function
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- BIN2DEC Function
- BIN2HEX Function
- BIN2OCT Function
- BITAND Function
- BITLSHIFT Function
- BITOR Function
- BITRSHIFT Function
- BITXOR Function
- COMPLEX Function
- CONVERT Function
- DEC2BIN Function
- DEC2HEX Function
- DEC2OCT Function
- DELTA Function
- ERF Function
- ERF.PRECISE Function
- ERFC Function
- ERFC.PRECISE Function
- GESTEP Function
- HEX2BIN Function
- HEX2DEC Function
- HEX2OCT Function
- IMABS Function
- IMAGINARY Function
- IMARGUMENT Function
- IMCONJUGATE Function
- IMCOS Function
- IMCOSH Function
- IMCOT Function
- IMCSC Function
- IMCSCH Function
- IMDIV Function
- IMEXP Function
- IMLN Function
- IMLOG2 Function
- IMLOG10 Function
- IMPOWER Function
- IMPRODUCT Function
- IMREAL Function
- IMSEC Function
- IMSECH Function
- IMSIN Function
- IMSINH Function
- IMSQRT Function
- IMSUB Function
- IMSUM Function
- IMTAN Function
- OCT2BIN Function
- OCT2DEC Function
- OCT2HEX Function
- Financial Functions
- Financial Functions
- ACCRINT Function
- ACCRINTM Function
- AMORDEGRC Function
- AMORLINC Function
- COUPDAYBS Function
- COUPDAYS Function
- COUPDAYSNC Function
- COUPNCD Function
- COUPNUM Function
- COUPPCD Function
- CUMIPMT Function
- CUMPRINC Function
- DB Function
- DDB Function
- DISC Function
- DOLLARDE Function
- DOLLARFR Function
- DURATION Function
- EFFECT Function
- FV Function
- FVSCHEDULE Function
- INTRATE Function
- IPMT Function
- IRR Function
- ISPMT Function
- MDURATION Function
- MIRR Function
- NOMINAL Function
- NPER Function
- NPV Function
- ODDFPRICE Function
- ODDFYIELD Function
- ODDLPRICE Function
- ODDLYIELD Function
- PDURATION Function
- PMT Function
- PPMT Function
- PRICE Function
- PRICEDISC Function
- PRICEMAT Function
- PV Function
- RATE Function
- RECEIVED Function
- RRI Function
- SLN Function
- SYD Function
- TBILLEQ Function
- TBILLPRICE Function
- TBILLYIELD Function
- VDB Function
- XIRR Function
- XNPV Function
- YIELD Function
- YIELDDISC Function
- YIELDMAT Function
- Information Functions
- Information Functions
- CELL Function
- ERROR.TYPE Function
- INFO Function
- ISBLANK Function
- ISERR Function
- ISERROR Function
- ISEVEN Function
- ISFORMULA Function
- ISLOGICAL Function
- ISNA Function
- ISNONTEXT Function
- ISNUMBER Function
- ISODD Function
- ISREF Function
- ISTEXT Function
- N Function
- NA Function
- SHEET Function
- SHEETS Function
- TYPE Function
- Lookup & Reference Functions
- Lookup & Reference Functions
- ADDRESS Function
- AREAS Function
- CHOOSE Function
- COLUMN Function
- COLUMNS Function
- FORMULATEXT Function
- GETPIVOTDATA Function
- HLOOKUP Function
- HYPERLINK Function
- INDEX Function
- INDIRECT Function
- LOOKUP Function
- MATCH Function
- OFFSET Function
- ROW Function
- ROWS Function
- RTD Function
- TRANSPOSE Function
- VLOOKUP Function
- Statistical Functions
- Statistical Functions
- AVEDEV Function
- AVERAGE Function
- AVERAGEA Function
- AVERAGEIF Function
- AVERAGEIFS Function
- BETA.DIST Function
- BETA.INV Function
- BINOM.DIST Function
- BINOM.DIST.RANGE Function
- BINOM.INV Function
- CHISQ.DIST Function
- CHISQ.DIST.RT Function
- CHISQ.INV Function
- CHISQ.INV.RT Function
- CHISQ.TEST Function
- CONFIDENCE.NORM Function
- CONFIDENCE.T Function
- CORREL Function
- COUNT Function
- COUNTA Function
- COUNTBLANK Function
- COUNTIF Function
- COUNTIFS Function
- COVARIANCE.P Function
- COVARIANCE.S Function
- DEVSQ Function
- EXPON.DIST Function
- F.DIST Function
- F.DIST.RT Function
- F.INV Function
- F.INV.RT Function
- F.TEST Function
- FISHER Function
- FISHERINV Function
- FORECAST Function
- FORECAST.ETS Function
- FORECAST.ETS.CONFINT Function
- FORECAST.ETS.SEASONALITY Function
- FORECAST.ETS.STAT Function
- FORECAST.LINEAR Function
- FREQUENCY Function
- GAMMA Function
- GAMMA.DIST Function
- GAMMA.INV Function
- GAMMALN Function
- GAMMALN.PRECISE Function
- GAUSS Function
- GEOMEAN
- GROWTH
- HARMEAN
- HYPGEOM.DIST
- INTERCEPT Function
- KURT Function
- LARGE Function
- LINEST Function
- LOGEST Function
- LOGNORM.DIST Function
- LOGNORM.INV Function
- MAX Function
- MAXA Function
- MAXIFS Function
- MEDIAN Function
- MIN Function
- MINA Function
- MINIFS Function
- MODE.MULT Function
- MODE.SNGL Function
- NEGBINOM.DIST Function
- NORM.DIST Function
- NORM.INV Function
- NORM.S.DIST Function
- NORM.S.INV Function
- PEARSON Function
- PERCENTILE.EXC
- PERCENTILE.INC
- PERCENTRANK.EXC
- PERCENTRANK.INC
- PERMUT
- PERMUTATIONA
- PHI
- POISSON.DIST
- PROB
- QUARTILE.EXC
- QUARTILE.INC
- RANK.AVG
- RANK.EQ
- RSQ
- SKEW
- SKEW.P
- SLOPE
- SMALL
- STANDARDIZE
- STDEV.P
- STDEV.S
- STDEVA
- STDEVPA
- STEYX
- T.DIST
- T.DIST.2T
- T.DIST.RT
- T.INV
- T.INV.2T
- T.TEST
- TREND
- TRIMMEAN Function
- VAR.P Function
- VAR.S Function
- VARA Function
- VARPA Function
- WEIBULL.DIST Function
- Z.TEST Function
- Web Functions
- Web Functions
- ENCODEURL Function
- FILTERXML Function
- WEBSERVICE Function
Excel - SEARCHB Function
SEARCHB Function
The EXCEL SEARCHB function retrieves the index position of the character presented in another text string. The main feature of the SEARCHB function is that it calculates each character as a 2-byte and is supported by East Asian languages like Chinese, Korean, etc. You must alter the preferred language settings to DBCS-aided languages to execute this eminent function successfully. Unlike the FINDB function, the SEARCHB function is case-insensitive.
Compatibility
The SEARCHB function is compatible with multiple versions of the MS-Excel −
- Excel for Microsoft 365
- Excel for Microsoft 365 for Mac
- Excel for the web
- Excel 2024
- Excel 2024 for Mac
- Excel 2021
- Excel 2021 for Mac
- Excel 2019
- Excel 2016
Syntax
The Syntax of the SEARCHB function is as follows −
=SEARCHB(find_text,within_text,[start_num])
Arguments
You can utilize the following arguments with the SEARCHB function −
Argument | Description | Required / Optional |
---|---|---|
find_text | It indicates the character/text that would be extracted from the within_text argument. | Required |
within_text | It specifies another string upon which the part of the string will be searched. | Required |
[start_num] | It denotes the character's starting position from where the searching process will begin. | Optional |
Points to Remember
- If the text specified in the find_text is not presented in the within_text argument, then the SEARCHB function will retrieve the #VALUE! error.
- The wildcard characters (* and ?) can be utilized in the find_text argument.
- By default, the start_num argument is equal to 1, which means text is searched from left to right in the input string.
- The start_num argument contains a negative value or is more significant than the within_text arguments length; then the SEARCHB function will retrieve the #VALUE! error.
Examples of SEARCHB Function
Practice the following example to learn the use of the SEARCHB function in Excel.
Example 1: Using Japanese Language
In this example, the preferred language settings of Excel is Japanese.
Solution
Step 1 − First, assume the sample dataset where the Japanese translation of the text string World game changer is given in the B4 cell and the Cricket game text string conversion in the Japanese is written in the B5 cell.

Step 2 − After that, write the formula =SEARCHB("",B4) in the C4 cell.

Once you press the Enter tab, the SEARCHB function returns the index position of the in the input string which is 21.

Step 3 − Moreover, double click on the C5 cell and type the formula =SEARCHB("",B5,4). In this formula, the start_num value is 4 that means searching of the character will begin from the fourth position of the input string whose cell reference is B5.

Furthermore, press the Enter tab to get the position of the character.

NOTE − All these characters in the input string are double byte characters string. If you try to execute the SEARCH function for these input text value, then the SEARCH function will give you different output.
Example 2
If the text specified in the find_text is not presented in the within_text argument, then the SEARCHB function will retrieve the #VALUE! error.
Solution
Write the formula =SEARCHB("",B3) in the C3 cell and press the Enter tab.

Hence, the SEARCHB function will gives you the #VALUE! error as the character defined in the find_text is missing in the given string.

Example 3
The start_num argument contains a negative value or is more significant than the within_text arguments length; then the SEARCHB function will retrieve the #VALUE! error.
Solution
You can write the formula =SEARCHB("",B3,-8) in the C3 cell. As you notice in this formula, the third argument is not positive.

Therefore, the SEARCHB function will retrieve the #VALUE! error.

Download Practice Sheet
You can download and use the sample data sheet to practice the SEARCHB function.