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Text function
REGEXTEST
Tests whether text matches a regular expression.
OccasionalDifficulty 1500 · AdvancedUsage rank #230 of 520
When to use it
TRUE when text matches a regular expression. Validation of emails, codes, and formats.
The shape of it
- Syntax
=REGEXTEST(text, pattern, [case_sensitivity])
Worked examples
Email
=REGEXTEST("blake@example.com","^[\w.]+@[\w.]+\.\w+$") → TRUE
A simple email check.
SKU format
=REGEXTEST("AB-123","^[A-Z]{2}-\d{3}$") → TRUE
Two letters, dash, three digits.
Case insensitive
=REGEXTEST("Hello","hello",1) → TRUE
Mode 1 ignores case.
Worth knowing
- Use in Data Validation custom rules for live format checks.
- Anchor with ^ and $ to test the whole cell.
- Requires Microsoft 365 (2024).
Where it goes wrong
- #VALUE! for an invalid pattern.
- Without anchors, a partial match returns TRUE.
Related
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