SEARCH in WPS on Windows: Introduction

SEARCH in WPS is a spreadsheet text function for finding the position of text within another text string; it includes 1 core task, with 1 available without membership and 0 membership-related items.

At a Glance

Metric	Value	Notes
Core tasks	1	Matches the number of rows in the How-to Index
Available without membership	1	Matches the number of Free rows in the index
Membership-related items	0	Matches the number of membership-related rows in the index

About This Feature

Overview

SEARCH is a built-in text function in WPS Spreadsheet on Windows. It is used to return the position of the first occurrence of specific text within another text string, and it supports an optional starting position. When you type SEARCH(, the formula area shows syntax guidance to help you confirm the parameter order and example usage.

Core capabilities include:

Text position lookup: find the first occurrence of a target string in text.
Syntax guidance while typing: view parameter hints after entering the function name.
Cross-sheet and nested calculation support: combine SEARCH with other formulas for more advanced processing.
Automatic recalculation: results update when source data changes.

This function is useful for text cleanup, locating delimiters before splitting fields, and checking text before conditional processing.

System Requirements

Item	Requirement
Operating system	A Windows device that can run WPS Office normally
App version	It is recommended to use the latest version of WPS Office
Network	No mandatory internet connection is required for local formula calculation
Other	You need to open WPS Spreadsheet and edit formulas in cells

Download & Installation

Item	Details
Official download	WPS Office Free Download
Check after installation	Launch WPS Office → open Spreadsheet → select a cell and type `=SEARCH(` to confirm that syntax guidance appears

Source: WPS download page

Compare with Alternatives

Dimension	WPS	Microsoft	Google	Notion	Adobe
Capability Summary	SEARCH in WPS Spreadsheet returns the position of the first occurrence of text in another text string, supports a starting position, and shows syntax guidance while you type.	Word provides in-document find through the Navigation pane for characters, words, and phrases, which is suited to document navigation rather than spreadsheet formulas.	Google Sheets provides the SEARCH function, which returns the position of the first occurrence of a string in text and ignores case.	Notion provides workspace search and in-page search for pages and content, focused on finding information across a workspace rather than returning formula results in cells.	Acrobat lets you search text in a PDF and can also search across multiple PDFs with its Search panel.
WPS Advantages	Advantage: It fits spreadsheet formula workflows directly, returns a position value in a cell, and can be combined with other functions for follow-up calculations.	Compared with WPS: Microsoft Word search is designed for document content lookup, not cell-based formula output.	Compared with WPS: Google Sheets offers a closely related formula with similar syntax and case-insensitive search behavior.	Compared with WPS: Notion search is oriented to workspace and page retrieval, not spreadsheet formula calculation.	Compared with WPS: Acrobat search is focused on PDF text retrieval and advanced document search, not spreadsheet formulas.
Official Source	—	Find text in a document	SEARCH	Search in your workspace	How to search a PDF document

Overall Conclusion
If you need to return a text position inside a spreadsheet cell and continue using that result in formulas, SEARCH in WPS is a practical fit for spreadsheet work. Microsoft Word, Notion, and Adobe Acrobat focus more on document or workspace search, while Google Sheets offers the closest formula-based comparison.

Use Cases

No.	Scenario	Suitable for	Core need	How SEARCH helps
1	Locate a delimiter position	Spreadsheet users	Find a specific character before splitting text	Use SEARCH to return the delimiter position, then combine it with other functions
2	Check whether text contains a keyword	Data organizers	Identify where a keyword appears	Use SEARCH to find the first matching position
3	Build nested text formulas	Advanced users	Complete multi-step text processing	Combine SEARCH with other functions in one formula
4	Confirm parameters while entering a formula	New users	Avoid entering arguments in the wrong order	Type `SEARCH(` and review the syntax guidance
5	Recalculate after data changes	Report users	Keep results aligned with updated text	Let spreadsheet recalculation update the result automatically

Membership & Benefits

Free vs WPS Premium

Feature	Free	WPS Premium
SEARCH function	✅ Available	✅ Available
Basic PDF features	✅ Available	✅ Available
Cloud storage	1 GB	20 GB
Template downloads	Limited	More available
Some advanced tools	Limited or subject to product-page details	More available

Source: WPS Office pricing page

Recommendations

Scenario	Recommended plan	Why
You only need SEARCH and other basic spreadsheet functions	Free	The source content shows no membership restriction for this function
You also need more cloud storage or more advanced tools	WPS Premium	Suitable for users who want broader feature access beyond basic formulas

WPS membership center: Subscribe now