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Strings::Left Method (String^, Int32)

 

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)

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.

System_CAPS_noteNote

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.

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

.NET Framework
Available since 1.1
Silverlight
Available since 2.0
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