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Strings.Left Method

.NET Framework 4

Returns a string containing a specified number of characters from the left side of a string.

Namespace:  Microsoft.VisualBasic
Assembly:  Microsoft.VisualBasic (in Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll)
C#
C++
F#
VB
Copy 
public static string Left(
	string str,
	int Length
)

Parameters

str
Type: System.String
Required. String expression from which the leftmost characters are returned.
Length
Type: System.Int32
Required. Integer expression. Numeric expression indicating how many characters to return. If 0, a zero-length string ("") is returned. If greater than or equal to the number of characters in str, the entire string is returned.

Return Value

Type: System.String
Returns a string containing a specified number of characters from the left side of a string.
Exception Condition
ArgumentException

Length < 0.

To determine the number of characters in str, use the Len function. If used in a Windows Forms application, or any other class that has a Left property, you must fully qualify the function with Microsoft.VisualBasic.Left.

Note Note

The LeftB function in previous versions of Visual Basic returns a string in bytes rather than characters. It is used primarily for converting strings in double-byte character set (DBCS) applications. All current Visual Basic strings are in Unicode, and LeftB is no longer supported.

This example demonstrates the use of the Left function to return a substring of a given String. In a class that has a Left property, it may be necessary to fully qualify the Left function.

VB
Copy 

Dim TestString As String = "Hello World!"
' Returns "Hello".
Dim subString As String = Left(TestString, 5)

.NET Framework

Supported in: 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
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