REPLACE substitutes a specified number of characters at a fixed position with different text. =REPLACE("2002";3;2;"03") is expected to return 2003. It replaces positions, not occurrences of a searched word; choose SUBSTITUTE when matching old text instead.

=REPLACE(text;position;length;new_text)

• text — required original text or text-containing cell reference.
• position — required integer first character position to replace; normal formulas count the first character as 1. Use a valid positive position.
• length — required number of existing characters to remove from position. Insertion is possible with 0; REPLACE("123456789";5;0;"Q") is expected to insert Q without deleting anything.
• new_text — required replacement string, which can be shorter, longer, or an empty string. Literal strings go in double quotation marks.
• Return — text. This function has exactly four registered arguments in Calligra 26.08.2, with no optional fields/defaults.

Alias note: the 26.08.2 registration gives REPLACEB as alternate name(s) for REPLACE; 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 = abcdefghijk.
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.

Make fixed-width product label changes

For A6 = INV-2025:

=REPLACE(A6;5;4;"2026")

Expected output: INV-2026. This assumes the prefix length remains four characters (including the hyphen). If the input might be INVOICE-2025, do not use position 5; locate the separator dynamically with FIND or use SUBSTITUTE to replace a known term.

Insert without removing characters

For A5 = 123456789, =REPLACE(A5;5;0;"Q") yields 1234Q56789. This is useful for inserting a status marker into consistently formatted ID strings. The pinned KDE source test explicitly includes this example.

Remove characters by replacing them with empty text

With A8 = ABC-123, =REPLACE(A8;4;1;"") is expected to return ABC123. Contrast this with =SUBSTITUTE(A8;"-";""), which removes every hyphen rather than a specific position. Pick the positional version only when the layout is stable.

• Off-by-one edits: normal positions start at 1, not 0. =REPLACE("2002";3;2;"03") targets 02, not 20.
• Replacing the wrong segment: if data uses variable-length prefixes, fixed numeric positions will silently change the wrong characters. Use FIND or SUBSTITUTE with a validated delimiter.
• Unexpected length changes: new_text need not match length, so a replacement can expand or shrink the cell value; this is expected.
• Invalid negative positions/lengths: older C++ source passes some boundary values to Qt’s string replacement after limited normalization. The handbook does not establish reliable spreadsheet-visible errors for every invalid value. Avoid negative values; do not promise Excel-identical errors without native testing.
• REPLACEB alias: 26.08.2 registers REPLACEB as a second name for the same code while the handbook describes byte positions. Non-ASCII byte behaviour needs native testing, not a separate guide assumed from the name.
• Wrong argument count: all four inputs are required. To remove text, pass "" for new_text rather than omitting argument four.

Microsoft Excel: English Excel uses REPLACE(old_text,start_num,num_chars,new_text), matching the ordinary four-argument intent but using comma separators in English-language examples. Ordinary ASCII fixed-position edits often transfer, subject to locale and boundary rules. Microsoft has explicit remarks about Unicode compatibility mode and deprecated REPLACEB; do not assume Calligra’s REPLACEB alias handles byte positions identically. Microsoft REPLACE reference.

SUBSTITUTE versus REPLACE: REPLACE changes a position. SUBSTITUTE finds a text value. This difference matters when product codes, names or addresses are not fixed width.

• Calligra Sheets — function documentation
• Calligra 26.08.2 text function code
• 26.08.2 release announcement
• SUBSTITUTE
• FIND
• MID
• LEN

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.