Beginner

Extract the first characters

Pull a fixed number of characters from the start of a text — codes, prefixes, initials.

The formula

=LEFT(A2, 3)

How it works

I1
N2
V3
O4
I5
C6
E7
Result
INV

LEFT returns the first N characters (here 3) from the start of the text.

Functions used

LEFTMIDRIGHT