SEARCH in WPS on Windows: Introduction

SEARCH in WPS is a text-position formula for multi-dimensional tables; this guide covers 3 core tasks, with 3 available without membership and 0 membership-related items.

At a Glance

Metric	Value	Notes
Core tasks	3	Matches the number of rows in the How-to Index
Available without membership	3	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

The SEARCH function in WPS multi-dimensional tables helps you find the position of text inside another text string without case sensitivity. It is useful for text matching, conditional logic, and formula combinations inside formula fields.

Core capabilities include:

Use SEARCH in a formula field to locate text positions.
Enter the required arguments and complete the calculation.
Combine SEARCH with other functions for more flexible text processing.

Common scenarios: text matching, field cleanup, and conditional checks.
It helps solve: locating target text quickly and returning results automatically in table records.
Distinct: it works directly in formula fields and can be nested with other functions.

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	Local formula editing and calculation do not require a constant connection; downloading, signing in, or syncing requires network access
Other	You need access to a multi-dimensional table and permission to edit fields

Download & Installation

Item	Details
Official download	WPS Office Free Download
Check after installation	Open WPS Office, enter a multi-dimensional table, and confirm that you can add a Formula field

Source: WPS Download Center

Compare with Alternatives

Dimension	WPS	Microsoft	Google	Notion	Adobe
Capability Summary	SEARCH can be used in WPS multi-dimensional table formula fields to find the first position of text, ignore letter case, and work with other functions.	Excel SEARCH finds the starting position of one text string inside another, is not case-sensitive, and supports an optional start position.	Google Sheets SEARCH returns the first position of text, ignores case, and supports the starting_at argument.	Notion formulas support text-search-related functions such as contains, test, and match, but they are database formulas rather than spreadsheet cell functions.	Acrobat supports searching text in PDFs, searching across multiple PDFs, and replacing text in PDFs, which is document search rather than a spreadsheet formula function.
WPS Advantages	Advantage: works directly in multi-dimensional table formula fields and can calculate results automatically across table records.	Compared with WPS: focuses on worksheet cell formulas in spreadsheet workflows.	Compared with WPS: focuses on online spreadsheet syntax and cell-based calculations.	Compared with WPS: supports text checks in database formulas, but does not provide the same spreadsheet-style position result.	Compared with WPS: supports PDF text search and replace, not an equivalent table formula function.
Official Source	—	Excel SEARCH function	Google Sheets SEARCH	Notion formula syntax	Adobe search in PDFs

Overall Conclusion
If your work centers on processing text with formulas inside table records, WPS SEARCH fits that workflow well. Microsoft and Google provide established spreadsheet formula behavior, Notion is closer to database logic, and Adobe is mainly for PDF text search.

Use Cases

No.	Scenario	Suitable For	Main Need	How SEARCH Helps
1	Keyword position lookup	Data organizers	Need to identify where a keyword appears in a field	Use SEARCH in a formula field to return the position
2	Pre-checks for conditions	Analysts	Need to test text before applying logic	Combine SEARCH with IF and related functions
3	Automatic record calculation	Team collaborators	Manual checking across records is slow	Let the formula field calculate results for each record
4	Formula learning and testing	New users	Need help understanding argument entry	Follow the function format in the formula editor
5	Text rule cleanup	Table maintainers	Need to identify repeated text patterns	Use SEARCH with other text functions

Membership & Benefits

Free vs WPS Premium

Capability	Free	WPS Premium
Basic SEARCH function use	✅ Available	✅ Available
Formula editing in multi-dimensional tables	✅ Available	✅ Available
Other premium benefits	Refer to the current account benefits page	More value-added benefits may be available depending on the plan

Source: WPS Office pricing page

Recommendations

Scenario	Recommended Plan	Why
Everyday formula editing and basic text lookup	Free	It already supports regular SEARCH function usage
Need more value-added services or broader collaboration benefits	WPS Premium	Suitable if you also need additional membership features

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