totn Access Functions

MS Access: Left Function

This MSAccess tutorial explains how to use the Access Left function with syntax and examples.

Description

The Microsoft Access Left function extracts a substring from a string, starting from the left-most character.

Syntax

The syntax for the Left function in MS Access is:

Left ( text, number_of_characters )

Parameters or Arguments

text
The string that you wish to extract from.
number_of_characters
Indicates the number of characters that you wish to extract starting from the left-most character.

Note

  • If number_of_characters exceeds the number of characters in text, the Left function will return text.

Applies To

The Left function can be used in the following versions of Microsoft Access:

  • Access 2019, Access 2016, Access 2013, Access 2010, Access 2007, Access 2003, Access XP, Access 2000

Example

Let's look at how to use the Left function in MS Access:

Left ("Tech on the Net", 4)
Result: "Tech"

Left ("Alphabet Soup", 5)
Result: "Alpha"

Left ("Alphabet", 20)
Result: "Alphabet"

Example in VBA Code

The Left function can be used in VBA code in Microsoft Access.

For example:

Dim LResult As String

LResult = Left ("Alphabet",3)

The variable LResult would now contain the value of "Alp".

Example in SQL/Queries

You can also use the Left function in a query in Microsoft Access.

For example:

Microsoft Access

In this query, we have used the Left function as follows:

Expr1: Left([CategoryName],10)

This query will return the first 10 characters from the CategoryName field and display the results in a column called Expr1. You can replace Expr1 with a column name that is more meaningful.

For example:

PartialName: Left([CategoryName],10)

The results would now be displayed in a column called PartialName.