FIND
Supported, behaves as documentedCategory: Text · Last tested 2026-08-06
Real, executed compatibility results for the FIND function across Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice Calc — verified by actually running it. Syntax and links to each vendor’s official documentation are below.
Support matrix
| Engine | Documented | Live-tested | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel | Yes | Not yet | n/a |
| Google Sheets | Yes | Not yet | n/a |
| LibreOffice Calc | Yes | Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-08-06) | Supported, behaves as documented |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when FIND’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-07-19 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-07-19 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-07-24 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-06 |
Executed test cases
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-08-06)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =FIND("e","spreadsheet") | Basic case-sensitive positional search for the first occurrence | 4 | 4 | Matched |
| =FIND("a","Apple") | FIND is case-sensitive: lowercase 'a' does not match the uppercase 'A' in "Apple", and there is no other 'a' -> #VALUE! (contrast with SEARCH, which is case-insensitive and would find it) | #VALUE! | #VALUE! Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/find-function-06213f91-b5be-4544-8b0b-2fd5a775436f and https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-to-correct-a-value-error-in-find-findb-and-search-searchb-functions-0d1299aa-6234-4253-bc5e-50881b575fc6 - FIND is case-sensitive and does not support wildcard characters |
Matched |
| =FIND("z","Apple") | find_text not present anywhere in within_text -> #VALUE! | #VALUE! | #VALUE! | Matched |
| =FIND("p","Apple",3) | start_num=3 begins the search at position 3, skipping the earlier match of 'p' at position 2 | 3 | 3 | Matched |
Docs & syntax
- Excel: official documentation
- Google Sheets: official documentation
- LibreOffice Calc: official documentation
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