Function: Instr

Description

Returns the numeric position of search string in the field specified in target string.

Syntax

Instr(search string,target string)

Arguments

search string is the substring you want to locate. The search string can be a constant, a character field, an expression that results in a string or a function that returns a string.

target string is the string containing the substring you want to locate. The target string can be a constant, a character field, an expression that results in a string or a function that returns a string.

Return value

This function returns a number representing the offset of the search string within the target string. If the search string is not found, the function returns 0.

Calculated field example

If the Lastname field contained the value Bradley, the following calculated field expression would return the number 5 (indicating that "ley" was first found starting at character position 5 in the Lastname field): Instr("ley",Lastname)

Filter/Find example

Records with a Lastname field value of Bradley, Ashley, or Pleyton can be selected or found using the expression: Instr("ley",Lastname)>0