VBScript Left Function

Returns a specified number of characters from the left side of a string.

Syntax: VBScript Left Function

Left(string, length)

Arguments: VBScript Left Function

string

A string expression from which the leftmost characters are returned. If string contains Null, Null is returned.

length

A numeric expression indicating how many characters to return. If 0, a zero-length string ("") is returned. If greater than or equal to the number of characters in string, the entire string is returned.

Remarks: VBScript Left Function

To determine the number of characters in string, use the Len function.

The following example uses the Left function to return the first three characters of MyString:

Dim MyString, LeftString

MyString = "VBSCript"

LeftString = Left(MyString, 3) ' LeftString contains "VBS".

Notes

The LeftB function is used with byte data contained in a string. Instead of specifying the number of characters to return, length specifies the number of bytes.

The behavior of the LeftB function depends on the byte ordering of the hardware platform, and the number of bytes used to represent Unicode characters in the system software. The function will produce different results on each supported operating system. Use with caution. The described behavior pertains to the Win32 version.