Excel REPLACE Function

Summary

The Excel REPLACE function replaces characters specified by location in a given text string with another text string. For example =REPLACE("XYZ123",4,3,"456") returns "XYZ456".

Purpose

Replace text based on location

Return value

The altered text.

Syntax

=REPLACE (old_text, start_num, num_chars, new_text)

Arguments

old_text - The text to replace.
start_num - The starting location in the text to search.
num_chars - The number of characters to replace.
new_text - The text to replace old_text with.

Usage notes

Use the REPLACE function when you want to replace text based on its location in a string.
Use FIND or SEARCH to find the location of text to replace it it's not known in advance.
Use SUBSTITUTE to replace text based on content.