TEXT SEARCH & EXTRACTION · ORIGINAL EXERCISE
Read a patterned note
Return the position of an invoice pattern "INV-???" in D2 using SEARCH. Each ? represents one character.
This quest practices SEARCH wildcards using a fictional business dataset. Read the sheet below, then enter the interactive quest to write and check your formula.
| Contact | Ticket | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Harbor | ORD-NY-204 | ari@north.example | Paid INV-204 receipt |
| South Market | ORD-LA-105 | bea@south.example | Review INV-105 today |
| West Workshop | ORD-AT-306 | cam@west.example | Send INV-306 copy |
| North Studio | ORD-NY-107 | dev@north.example | Pending INV-107 approval |
Hints to get you started
- SEARCH supports ? for one character.
- Keep the pattern inside quotes.
- Search the note in D2.
Show the worked solution
=SEARCH("INV-???",D2)SEARCH supports * for any sequence and ? for one character. Prefix a wildcard with ~ to search for the literal symbol.
Make the skill stick
After solving the task, explain what each reference does and why the formula answers the business question. Try the workbook download inside the quest to practice in your own spreadsheet app.
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