TEXTBEFORE extracts everything before a specified delimiter occurrence. It is useful for removing a file extension, taking a username before @, or retaining the beginning of a structured product code.

=TEXTBEFORE("Red-Fish-Blue-Fish","-",2)

Expected result: Red-Fish: the second hyphen appears after the second word. With the occurrence argument omitted, the expected output is Red. Gnumeric’s source explicitly defines those meanings. Gnumeric source.

=TEXTBEFORE(text, delimiter, [instance_num], [match_mode], [match_end], [if_not_found])

Use commas as shown for the English formula examples. If your locale displays a different list separator, confirm it in Gnumeric’s function assistant. instance_num=0 yields #VALUE! in the tagged implementation. The delimiter is literal text rather than a pattern. Source signature: SA|ffff. Source.

1. Enter the sample addresses in A2:A4 and headings Email (A1) and Username (B1).
2. Enter =TEXTBEFORE(A2,"@",1,0,0,"INVALID") in B2.
3. Copy through B4.
4. Compare with these expected results:

The result represents the substring before the first @; it does not confirm the address is valid. Without the final fallback argument, the third row would be expected to return #N/A.

Input: Red-Fish-Blue-Fish.

For filenames, =TEXTBEFORE("report.final.csv",".",-1) is expected to return report.final, cutting off only the final extension. This is different from the default first-period behaviour.

• #N/A: The requested delimiter occurrence does not exist. Compare uppercase/lowercase, leading spaces and whether the search string is exactly what you intended; use if_not_found for controlled fallback.
• #VALUE!: Zero is not a valid instance_num in Gnumeric’s implementation.
• Wrong portion returned: Check whether you wanted the first (1), second (2) or last (-1) delimiter.
• Case behaviour: By default searches are case-sensitive; use match_mode=1 only when appropriate.
• match_end=1: In the tagged source, a positive out-of-range occurrence returns the whole original string, while a negative out-of-range occurrence returns an empty string. Do not silently assume other software handles these cases identically.
• Delimiter arrays: The source supports them, but this guide does not claim tests of overlapping or multi-character arrays. TEXTBEFORE does not itself enforce a filename or email-validation grammar.
• Availability: Gnumeric 1.12.61 explicitly introduced this function. The Gnumeric 1.12.62 release tag confirms it still exists; installed plugin configuration may matter.

Excel for Microsoft 365/Excel 2024 also document TEXTBEFORE with similar parameter positions, but do not assume perfect interoperability without testing. Other spreadsheet programs may require combinations of search and extraction functions. Microsoft comparison.

• Gnumeric — function documentation
• Gnumeric 1.12.61 release notes

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

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