REGEX_SEARCH

Returns the index of the first character of the first matching substring based on a regular expression pattern

Description	The REGEX_SEARCH() function is used to find and return the starting index of the first character of the first occurrence of a substring that matches a regular expression pattern within a given text. This function is particularly useful for locating specific patterns or positions within text data.
Syntax	REGEX_SEARCH(text, pattern, [offset])

1. text: The input text string in which you want to search for a matching substring.

2. pattern: The regular expression pattern to search for within the text.

3. offset: (Optional) An offset (number greater than 0) that specifies the occurrence of the matching substring to return. The default is usually the first occurrence (offset 1).

When the REGEX_SEARCH() function returns -1, it indicates that there is no matching occurrence of the specified regular expression pattern or offset within the given text.

For example, if a user is looking for specific data and REGEX_SEARCH() function returns -1, they might conclude that the desired data is not present in the document.

Example

Table

ID	Text
1	Contact us at [phone] for support.
2	Please call 1-800-123-4567 for inquiries.
3	No phone number in this text.

Function

REGEX_SEARCH(`Text`, "[+]?[0-9]?[-. ]?\\(?[0-9]{3}\\)?[-. ]?[0-9]{3}[-. ]?[0-9]{4}")

Results

REGEX_SEARCH (integer)
15
11
-1