As a regular user of Google Sheets, you may have encountered a situation where you need to extract the first word from a string of text. While Google Sheets offers several built-in functions, there may not be a function that does exactly what you need. Fortunately, you can create a custom function in Google Sheets to meet your specific needs. In this article, we'll explore how to create a custom function that extracts the first word from a string of text.
Function Name and Description
The function we'll create is called EXTRACT_FIRST_WORD, and it extracts the first word from a string of text.
Function Definition
To create the EXTRACT_FIRST_WORD function in Google Sheets, follow these steps:
- In a new or existing spreadsheet, click Data and then Named functions.
- Enter the parameters as listed above.
- Now you can use this function like you would any other in Google Sheets!
That's it! You've created the EXTRACT_FIRST_WORD function. Now, you can use it like any other built-in function in Google Sheets.
Function Arguments
The EXTRACT_FIRST_WORD function has only one argument: cell. This argument specifies the cell containing the string of text from which you want to extract the first word.
Argument Examples
Here are some examples of how you can use the EXTRACT_FIRST_WORD function in Google Sheets:
- Example 1: Extracting First Word from a Cell
Suppose you have a cell A1 that contains the text "Hello world!". To extract the first word from this cell, you can use the following formula:=EXTRACT_FIRST_WORD(A1). The result will be "Hello". - Example 2: Extracting First Word from a Range of Cells
Suppose you have a range of cells A1:A10 that contain various strings of text. To extract the first word from each of these cells, you can use the following formula:=ARRAYFORMULA(EXTRACT_FIRST_WORD(A1:A10)). This will return an array of the first words from each of the cells in the range.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the EXTRACT_FIRST_WORD function in Google Sheets is a useful tool for extracting the first word from a string of text. By creating custom functions like this, you can save time and increase your productivity when working with Google Sheets.