Excel RIGHT Function: take characters from the end of a cell

RIGHT takes a number of characters from the end of a cell.

The formula

=RIGHT(text, [num_chars])

Everyday uses

• Last 4 digits of an account: ="XXXX-"&RIGHT(A2,4)
• File extension: =RIGHT(A2,4) → “.pdf” (but see below for varying lengths)

Everything after a character (length varies)

“INV-2045” and “INVOICE-7” both need the part after the dash:

=RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-SEARCH("-",A2))

LEN counts all characters, SEARCH finds the dash, the difference is how many are left. After the last space (surname from a full name):

=TEXTAFTER(A2," ",-1)

That one needs Excel 365. See separate first and last name.

RIGHT returns text

“2045” from RIGHT is text, so it will not add up. Wrap it: =VALUE(RIGHT(A2,4)). See VALUE.

Remove the last characters instead

That is LEFT: =LEFT(A2,LEN(A2)-3). Full lesson: remove last character.

The trio: LEFT · MID · RIGHT