TEXTBEFORE
Quirk foundCategory: Text · Last tested 2026-08-06
Real, executed compatibility results for the TEXTBEFORE 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 | No | Not yet | n/a |
| LibreOffice Calc | No | Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-08-06) | Quirk found |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when TEXTBEFORE’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-07-19 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-07-19 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-07-24 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Quirk found | 2026-08-06 |
Why isn't TEXTBEFORE working in LibreOffice?
TEXTBEFORE exists in LibreOffice 25.8.7.3, but it is not a drop-in match for
Excel — our executed tests found real behavioral differences (detailed in the test results on this
page). If a formula that works in Excel or Google Sheets misbehaves in LibreOffice, compare your usage
against the failing cases above before assuming your data is wrong.
Discovered quirks
- =TEXTBEFORE("abc","-","none") on LibreOffice Calc returned #VALUE!, but the documented/expected result is none. MISMATCH vs expected: expected 'none', got '#VALUE!'
Executed test cases
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-08-06)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =TEXTBEFORE("a-b-c","-") | Text before the first delimiter occurrence | a | a | Matched |
| =TEXTBEFORE("a-b-c","-",2) | instance_num=2 counts to the 2nd delimiter | a-b | a-b | Matched |
| =TEXTBEFORE("abc","-") | Delimiter not present and no if_not_found -> #N/A | #N/A | #N/A | Matched |
| =TEXTBEFORE("abc","-","none") | Delimiter not present with if_not_found supplied | #VALUE! | none | Mismatch |
| =TEXTBEFORE("a-b-c","-",-1) | Negative instance_num counts delimiters from the end | a-b | a-b -1 means the last delimiter; text before it is 'a-b' |
Matched |
Docs & syntax
- Excel: official documentation