InStr Function

Returns the position of the first occurrence of a String inside another String. The first character is numbered 1.

Syntax
result = InStr( [start], source, find )
result = stringVariable.InStr( [start], find )

Parameters
start | Integer (Optional) | Optional position from which to begin searching the source string. One is the default if omitted.
source | String | Required. String expression being searched.
find | String | Required. String expression being sought.

Return Value
Result | Integer | The position of the first occurrence of find in source. If the search string cannot be located in source, InStr returns 0.

# Notes

If the find string is not found within the source string, 0 (zero) is returned. If the find string is an empty string, then start is returned. That is, InStr("This","") returns 1 and InStr(3,"This","") returns 3.

InStr is case-insensitive, even with accented Roman characters and non-Roman alphabets.

If you need to find the byte position of the find string within the source string, use the InStrB function or you need a case-sensitive function.

# Examples

This example uses the InStr function to locate a string within another string.

Dim first As Integer
first = InStr("This is a test", "t")
//returns 1
first = InStr("This is a test", "is")
//returns 3
first = InStr(4, "This is a test", "is")
//returns 6
first = InStr("This is a test", "tester")
//returns 0

# See Also

Asc, Chr, Left, Len, Mid, NthField, Right, Split, StrComp functions.