Is it possible to search a cell that contains a string of text that is about 30 characters in length for a piece of text contained within that string. For example, I have a report provided by a business partner that contains a column with a description from a billing invoice. The description column usually contains about 30 characters of text and somewhere in this string is a 10 digit invoice ID that I need to extract out. The good news is the invoice ID always begins with 6305 but the problem I’m having is the invoice ID may start anywhere in the larger string. I’m trying to find a way to identify where in this string of text the invoice ID begins and what I need to do to extract it out. I do not need to remove the invoice ID from the description column, I would just need to identify it and paste it into a new column for later use. I’ve included and example spreadsheet showing what I’m trying to do. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
![]() |
Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it. |
SIGN IN | Not a member? | REGISTER | PLUS MEMBERSHIP |
-
Search cells for specific string of text (Excel 2003)
Home » Forums » AskWoody support » Productivity software by function » MS Excel and spreadsheet help » Search cells for specific string of text (Excel 2003)
- This topic has 5 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 2 months ago.
Viewing 0 reply threadsAuthorReplies-
WSHansV
AskWoody Lounger -
WSb0bito
AskWoody LoungerJanuary 6, 2009 at 8:00 pm #1140721Hans,
Thank you for the reply. I apologize, but I should have elaborated some more on this. I’m trying to accomplish this is visual basic. The reason to do this in Visual basic is some times the description column does not actually contain and invoice ID. Some business partners actually put it in the correct column and their is no need to extract it out. By dragging down the formula, I would overwrite where some business partners have correctly put the invoice ID with nothing because the formula could not find 6305 in the description field and enters nothing as a result of the formula. By doing this in visual basic, I can perform some checks to see if the invoice ID is already in the correct column and if not check the description field to see if it is in there. I’m trying to find a way where I don’t have to paste or enter any formulas into the sheet as I will not actually be performing the work myself. I’m hoping to hand off the macro to a team that will use it to make sure they can extract these invoice ID’s where needed. Any help with this approach would be appreciated. Thanks!!
-
WSHansV
AskWoody LoungerJanuary 6, 2009 at 8:06 pm #1140722Here is a sample of the kind of code you can use. This fragment doesn’t do anything, I’ll leave that to you:
Dim strValue As String
Dim strInvoiceID As String
Dim intPos As Integer
strValue = Range(“A2”).Value
intPos = InStr(strValue, “6305”)
If intPos = 0 Then
‘ Invoice ID not found in cell value
Else
strInvoiceID = Mid(strValue, intPos, 10)
End If
-
-
Viewing 0 reply threads -

Plus Membership
Donations from Plus members keep this site going. You can identify the people who support AskWoody by the Plus badge on their avatars.
AskWoody Plus members not only get access to all of the contents of this site -- including Susan Bradley's frequently updated Patch Watch listing -- they also receive weekly AskWoody Plus Newsletters (formerly Windows Secrets Newsletter) and AskWoody Plus Alerts, emails when there are important breaking developments.
Get Plus!
Welcome to our unique respite from the madness.
It's easy to post questions about Windows 11, Windows 10, Win8.1, Win7, Surface, Office, or browse through our Forums. Post anonymously or register for greater privileges. Keep it civil, please: Decorous Lounge rules strictly enforced. Questions? Contact Customer Support.
Search Newsletters
Search Forums
View the Forum
Search for Topics
Recent Topics
-
June 2025 updates are out
by
Susan Bradley
1 hour, 45 minutes ago -
Mozilla shutting Deep Fake Detector
by
Alex5723
6 hours, 45 minutes ago -
Windows-Maintenance-Tool (.bat)
by
Alex5723
6 hours, 48 minutes ago -
Windows 11 Insider Preview build 26200.5641 released to DEV
by
joep517
9 hours, 17 minutes ago -
Windows 11 Insider Preview build 26120.4250 (24H2) released to BETA
by
joep517
9 hours, 19 minutes ago -
Install Office 365 Outlook classic on new Win11 machine
by
WSrcull999
9 hours, 16 minutes ago -
win 10 to win 11 with cpu/mb replacement
by
aquatarkus
1 hour, 9 minutes ago -
re-install Windows Security
by
CWBillow
12 hours, 33 minutes ago -
WWDC 2025 Recap: All of Apple’s NEW Features in 10 Minutes!
by
Alex5723
16 hours, 14 minutes ago -
macOS Tahoe 26
by
Alex5723
10 hours, 27 minutes ago -
Migrating from win10 to win11, instructions coming?
by
astro46
46 minutes ago -
Device Eligibility for Apple 2026 Operating Systems due this Fall
by
PKCano
1 hour ago -
Recommended watching : Mountainhead movie
by
Alex5723
1 hour, 44 minutes ago -
End of support for Windows 10
by
Old enough to know better
1 hour, 40 minutes ago -
What goes on inside an LLM
by
Michael Covington
1 hour, 21 minutes ago -
The risk of remote access
by
Susan Bradley
49 minutes ago -
The cruelest month for many Office users
by
Peter Deegan
7 hours, 56 minutes ago -
Tracking protection and trade-offs in Edge
by
Mary Branscombe
5 hours, 59 minutes ago -
Supreme Court grants DOGE access to confidential Social Security records
by
Alex5723
1 day, 14 hours ago -
EaseUS Partition Master free 19.6
by
Alex5723
15 hours, 15 minutes ago -
Microsoft : Edge is better than Chrome
by
Alex5723
2 days, 3 hours ago -
The EU launched DNS4EU
by
Alex5723
2 days, 16 hours ago -
Cell Phone vs. Traditional Touchtone Phone over POTS
by
280park
2 days, 6 hours ago -
Lost access to all my networked drives (shares) listed in My Computer
by
lwerman
2 days, 22 hours ago -
Set default size for pasted photo to word
by
Cyn
3 days, 4 hours ago -
Dedoimedo tries 24H2…
by
Cybertooth
2 days, 16 hours ago -
Windows 11 Insider Preview build 27871 released to Canary
by
joep517
4 days, 3 hours ago -
Windows 11 ad from Campaign Manager in Windows 10
by
Jim McKenna
1 day, 19 hours ago -
Small desktops
by
Susan Bradley
7 hours, 29 minutes ago -
Totally disable Bitlocker
by
CWBillow
2 days, 20 hours ago
Recent blog posts
Key Links
Want to Advertise in the free newsletter? How about a gift subscription in honor of a birthday? Send an email to sb@askwoody.com to ask how.
Mastodon profile for DefConPatch
Mastodon profile for AskWoody
Home • About • FAQ • Posts & Privacy • Forums • My Account
Register • Free Newsletter • Plus Membership • Gift Certificates • MS-DEFCON Alerts
Copyright ©2004-2025 by AskWoody Tech LLC. All Rights Reserved.