# Index - script and chart function

Index() searches a string to find the starting position of the nth occurrence of a provided substring. An optional third argument provides the value of n, which is 1 if omitted. A negative value searches from the end of the string. The positions in the string are numbered from 1 and up.

Syntax:

Index(text, substring[, count])

**Return data type:** integer

Arguments:

Index arguments

| Argument | Description |
| --- | --- |
| text | The original string. |
| substring | A string of characters to search for in text.<br><br>Information note<br><br>If the substring does not exist in the text, Index returns 0. |
| count | Defines which occurrence of substring to search for. For example, a value of 2 searches for the second occurrence. |

Examples and results:

Examples and results

| Example | Result |
| --- | --- |
| Index(<br>'abcdefg', 'cd' ) | Returns 3 |
| Index(<br>'abcdabcd', 'b', 2) | Returns 6 (the second occurrence of 'b') |
| Index(<br>'abcdabcd', 'b',-2) | Returns 2 (the second occurrence of 'b' starting from the end) |
| `Left(<br>Date, Index( Date,'-') -1` ) where Date = 1997-07-14 | Returns 1997 |
| `Mid(<br>Date, Index( Date, '-', 2 ) -2, 2 )` where Date = 1997-07-14 | Returns 07 |
| Index('abc', 'x') | Returns 0 ('x' does not exist in the string 'abc') |
| Index('abc', 'a', 2) | Returns 0 (there is no 2nd occurrence of 'a') |