FIND returns the 1-based position of an exact (case-sensitive) text sequence inside another string. =FIND("i";"Calligra") is expected to return 5. Unlike SEARCH, it does not treat * or ? as wildcard patterns. The current page documents source-backed expected values rather than native execution observations.

=FIND(find_text;within_text;[start_num])

• find_text — required text or cell value to locate. Matching is case-sensitive in the 26.08.2 QString::indexOf implementation.
• within_text — required string or cell containing the search text. Returned index counts from the start of this string, not from start_num.
• start_num — optional integer position at which to begin searching, default 1. The first character is position 1. It does not change what position is returned; it only skips earlier candidate matches.
• Return — whole-number starting position if found; a #VALUE!-class error if not found or if start_num is outside its supported bounds. KDE registers 2–3 arguments.

Alias note: the 26.08.2 registration gives FINDB as alternate name(s) for FIND; the older handbook describes B-suffix byte semantics separately. this guide treats them as aliases, not proof of native Unicode/byte equivalence.

Version and evidence: The KDE Sheets function handbook and the pinned Calligra 26.08.2 text function code were checked on 2026-10-11. The code is release-registry/implementation evidence, not native execution proof. The 26.08.2 release announcement is dated 2026-10-08. For a particular installed package, confirm the version and enabled modules.

Formula entry and locale: Formulas begin with =. The English KDE reference uses semicolons to separate parameters, and all examples use English names and plain-ASCII text. Excel English-language reference pages typically show commas instead. Language packs, decimal notation and installed spreadsheet settings can affect formula entry. Paste the formula into a blank cell or use the function assistant to confirm the separator for your installation; do not assume a comma-formatted Excel formula always parses unchanged.

1. On a new blank sheet, enter A1 = Input text and B1 = Formula / result.
2. Enter each source text in A2 onward as shown in the table. For example, A2 = abcabc.
3. Enter the shown formula in B2 onward. Use semicolons as shown in the handbook, or adapt the argument separator only if your local app requires it.
4. Compare the displayed result with the expected result. Text 0042 should not be coerced to number 42; (empty text) represents the empty string, not literal parentheses.

Validation label — independent calculation, not native execution: each expected result was recalculated using a separate Python string manipulation (ASCII-only for these inputs). The results are also consistent with the pinned implementation and relevant KDE unit-test expectations where available. A local Calligra Sheets 26.08.2 application was not available in this run; there are zero observed runtime outputs.

Extract everything after an ID delimiter

Enter A7 = ID:045 and use:

=MID(A7;FIND(":";A7)+1)

Expected output: 045 (text). The FIND result is 3; MID starts at position 4. This two-argument MID form is accepted by Calligra’s registered function but is not portable unchanged to Excel, which requires a length.

Find a subsequent separator without resetting the index

For A8 = AA-BB-CC, =FIND("-";A8;FIND("-";A8)+1) is expected to return 6. The inner FIND locates position 3; the outer call begins at position 4 and locates the second hyphen. A missing second separator yields an error rather than a guessed position.

Turn an absent match into an informative message

If you use a reviewed IFERROR function, =IFERROR(FIND("blue";A6);"not found") avoids displaying a raw error on A6 = Black. Expected result: not found. Be careful: hiding errors can also mask wrongly typed start_num or invalid references; prefer validating source fields when building a data-cleaning workflow.

• #VALUE! on case differences: FIND("black";"Black") fails because the case differs; use SEARCH for case-insensitive patterns.
• #VALUE! on no match: exact substring absent. Leading/trailing spaces from imports also count, so inspect LEN and TRIM rather than silently changing the source.
• #VALUE! on bad start: the pinned implementation returns an error when start_num is ≤0 or greater than the string length. Omitted start defaults to 1.
• Misread returned position: FIND("b";"abcabcabc";3) returns 5, not 3 or a position relative to start_num.
• Wildcard confusion: asterisk and question mark are literal characters in FIND, not search wildcards. See the separate SEARCH function if wildcard matching is intended.
• FINDB warning: FINDB is an explicit alias for FIND in pinned 26.08.2 C++ registration; the older handbook describes byte positions. Non-ASCII semantics have not been natively established here; do not assume a separate FINDB implementation exists in this release.

Microsoft Excel: English Excel uses FIND(find_text,within_text,[start_num]) with the same case-sensitive/nonwildcard intent. Commas are displayed in Microsoft examples and semicolons in Calligra’s English handbook; settings may change separator conventions. Microsoft documents error conditions and character-count behavior that may not match all Calligra Unicode scenarios. Microsoft FIND reference.

Excel FINDB versus Calligra FINDB: Excel’s B-family semantics and deprecation/compatibility changes must not be equated to Calligra solely because an alternate function name exists. Test multibyte data under the installed versions before migrating.

• Calligra Sheets — function documentation
• Calligra 26.08.2 text function code
• 26.08.2 release announcement
• MID
• SEARCH
• LEN
• REPLACE

Verification status: Official documentation checked; example outcomes were independently reasoned or arithmetically checked where applicable. Not executed in Calligra Sheets.

• No genuine Calligra Sheets screenshots are included; this guide does not use mock application images.