MID FORMULA

 

Extract Text Between Two Words in Excel (Using MID + FIND)

Sometimes in Excel you need to extract a specific part of a sentence, especially when it appears between two words. For example, you may want to extract the text between “to” and “as per”.

This formula helps you do that automatically.

The Formula

=MID(E6,FIND("to",E6)+3,FIND("as per",E6)-FIND("to",E6)-3)

Example Data

Cell E6 contains:

Transfer payment to John Smith as per agreement

Result

The formula will return:

John Smith

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How the Formula Works

1️⃣ FIND("to",E6)

This finds the starting position of the word "to" inside the text.

Example:

Transfer payment to John Smith as per agreement
                 ↑

2️⃣ +3

We add 3 characters to move past "to " (including the space).

So extraction starts right after "to ".

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3️⃣ FIND("as per",E6)

This finds where the phrase "as per" begins.

Transfer payment to John Smith as per agreement
                                 ↑

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4️⃣ FIND("as per",E6) - FIND("to",E6) - 3

This calculates the length of the text between the two phrases.

So Excel knows how many characters to extract.

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Final Logic

The formula tells Excel:

Start after "to " and extract text until "as per" appears.

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✅ Best Use Cases

• Extract names from descriptions

• Pull locations from sentences

• Clean transaction descriptions

• Automate text parsing

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💡 Pro Tip:
If your text structure changes often, consider using newer functions like TEXTBEFORE / TEXTAFTER in modern Excel.