This post explores the Google Sheets REGEX formulas with a series of examples to illustrate how they work.
Regular expressions, or REGEX for short, are tools for solving problems with text strings. They work by matching patterns.
You use REGEX to solve problems like finding names or telephone numbers in data, validating email addresses, extracting URLs, renaming filenames containing the word “Application” etc.
They have a reputation for being hard, but once you learn a few basic rules and understand how they work you can use them effectively.
There are three Google Sheets REGEX formulas: REGEXMATCH, REGEXEXTRACT, and REGEXREPLACE.
Each has a specific job:
• REGEXMATCH will confirm whether it finds the pattern in the text.
• REGEXEXTRACT will extract text that matches the pattern.
• REGEXREPLACE will replace text that matches the pattern.
Let’s understand them with a series of examples.
💡 Learn moreLearn more about REGEX formulas in my latest course: The Google Sheets REGEX Formula Cookbook