LEFT
Supported, behaves as documentedCategory: Text · Last tested 2026-09-01
Real compatibility results for the LEFT function: executed in Excel for the web, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc, with desktop Excel behavior from Microsoft’s official documentation (we do not run desktop Excel — Excel for the web is a different application and is executed separately). Syntax and links to that documentation are below.
Support matrix
| Engine | Documented | Live-tested | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel (desktop) | Yes | No — documented only | n/a |
| Excel for the web | — | Yes (recalc, 2026-09-01) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| Google Sheets | Yes | Yes (Drive import, 2026-08-29) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| LibreOffice Calc | Yes | Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-07-29) | Supported, behaves as documented |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when LEFT’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-29 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-07-29 |
Executed test cases
Excel for the web (executed 2026-09-01 via OneDrive recalculation)
These values come from Excel for the web, not from desktop Excel. They are two different implementations of the calculation engine, and this run measured only the web one: the corpus was uploaded to OneDrive as .xlsx, recalculated by Excel for the web on open, and downloaded again for readback. Excel for the web is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so the run is identified by its date. Where a value here disagrees with the Expected column — which is Microsoft’s documentation of the desktop product — we cannot tell you whether the web engine diverges from the desktop one or the documentation is wrong about both, because we do not run desktop Excel.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =LEFT(A1) | num_chars omitted defaults to 1 | E | E | Matched |
| =LEFT(A1,3) | Basic extraction of the first 3 characters | Exc | Exc | Matched |
| =LEFT(A1,100) | num_chars larger than the string length returns the whole string, not an error | Excel | Excel | Matched |
| =LEFT(A1,0) | num_chars=0 returns an empty string | Matched |
Google Sheets (executed 2026-08-29 via Drive import)
Google Sheets is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so this run is identified by its date. The corpus was imported to Drive as .xlsx, recalculated by Sheets, and exported back for readback.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =LEFT(A1) | num_chars omitted defaults to 1 | E | E | Matched |
| =LEFT(A1,3) | Basic extraction of the first 3 characters | Exc | Exc | Matched |
| =LEFT(A1,100) | num_chars larger than the string length returns the whole string, not an error | Excel | Excel | Matched |
| =LEFT(A1,0) | num_chars=0 returns an empty string | Matched |
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-07-29)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =LEFT(A1) | num_chars omitted defaults to 1 | E | E | Matched |
| =LEFT(A1,3) | Basic extraction of the first 3 characters | Exc | Exc | Matched |
| =LEFT(A1,100) | num_chars larger than the string length returns the whole string, not an error | Excel | Excel | Matched |
| =LEFT(A1,0) | num_chars=0 returns an empty string | Matched |
Docs & syntax
- Excel (desktop): official documentation
- Google Sheets: official documentation
- LibreOffice Calc: official documentation
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Where LEFT behaves differently
- LENB and CJK text: 4 in Sheets and LibreOffice, 2 in Excel for the web
Microsoft's archived LEN/LENB page says LENB counts 2 bytes per character only under a DBCS default language, otherwise 1. Executed under a non-DBCS locale, =LENB("日本") returned 4 in Google Sheets and all four LibreOffice builds - but 2, the documented answer, in Excel for the web. Desktop Excel stays documentation only.