SUBSTITUTE in WPS on Windows FAQ

Last updated:July 23, 2026

Common questions about SUBSTITUTE usually focus on argument format, replacement results, and nested formula usage; this FAQ includes 3 common questions and a 3-term glossary.

FAQ

What should I check first if the SUBSTITUTE formula returns an error?

  1. Check whether the parentheses, commas, and quotation marks are complete.
  2. Check whether the old text and new text arguments are in the correct order.
  3. Check whether the referenced cell actually contains the text you want to replace.

Why did the formula not return the replacement result I expected?

  1. Confirm that the original text contains the exact target content.
  2. If you only want to replace one occurrence, add the fourth argument.
  3. If the text includes spaces or symbols, include those characters in the match string as well.

Can SUBSTITUTE be used together with other functions?

  1. Yes. Define the input and output of each formula layer clearly.
  2. Test the SUBSTITUTE result first, then place it inside a longer nested formula.
  3. If the result looks wrong, break the formula into smaller parts and check each part step by step.

Glossary

TermDefinition
SUBSTITUTEA text function that replaces specified content in a text string with new content.
instance_numAn optional argument that specifies which occurrence of the target text should be replaced.
text functionA category of functions used for text processing such as replacing, extracting, joining, and cleaning strings.