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Text function

UNICODE

Returns the Unicode number of the first character.

Rarely usedDifficulty 1150 · ProficientUsage rank #258 of 520
Practice · 2 questions →

When to use it

The Unicode code point of the first character.

The shape of it

Syntax
=UNICODE(text)

Worked examples

  • Currency

    =UNICODE("€") 8364

    Euro sign.

  • ASCII

    =UNICODE("A") 65

    Same as CODE for ASCII.

  • Symbol

    =UNICODE("✓") 10003

    A check mark.

Worth knowing

  • Identify strange characters in imported data.
  • CODE only covers 1 to 255.
  • Only the first character counts.

Where it goes wrong

  • Empty text returns #VALUE!.
  • Combined characters (emoji with modifiers) report only the first code point.

Related

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