Left is a commonly used ASP function that allows you to copy characters from the left side of a string. It takes two arguments:

* The string variable to operate on
* An integer representing how many characters to copy

The original string variable is not altered.

Let's say you have a string called UserName which is equal to "Lisa Shea". Now let's say you just want the Lisa part, to put into a new field called FirstName. Using the InStr function you determine that the first name is 4 characters long. You would then use Left like this:

FirstName = Left(UserName, 4)

The result is that FirstName would be equal to "Lisa".

ASP String Functions

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