SQL Server LEFT() Function
Example
Extract 3 characters from a string (starting from left):
SELECT LEFT('SQL Tutorial', 3) AS ExtractString;
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Definition and Usage
The LEFT() function extracts a number of characters from a string (starting from left).
Syntax
LEFT(string, number_of_chars)
Parameter Values
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
string | Required. The string to extract from |
number_of_chars | Required. The number of characters to extract. If the number exceeds the number of characters in string, it returns string |
Technical Details
Works in: | SQL Server (starting with 2008), Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Parallel Data Warehouse |
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More Examples
Example
Extract 5 characters from the text in the "CustomerName" column (starting from left):
SELECT LEFT(CustomerName, 5) AS ExtractString
FROM Customers;
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Example
Extract 100 characters from a string (starting from left):
SELECT LEFT('SQL Tutorial', 100) AS ExtractString;
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