hi
there are 3. =right(), =mid() and =left()
=right() returns a number of characters that you specify in a cell starting
from the  right side.
=left() does the same but starts from the left side of the data.
=mid() returns characters from the middle of the cell given a start point
and number of characters.
there is also text to columns
on the menu bar...
data.Text to columns...follow the wizard.
see help on all of the above for more details.

regards
FSt1

Maybe a combination of =search(), =find(), mid(), =left() and =right() would
work.

Or if your data is laid out nicely, you could use:
data|text to columns (xl2003 menu system)

If the data is delimited or fixed width, this method is very fast.