wordOffset

returns the number of words between the beginning of a value and an occurrence of a specified string.

# Metadata

Platforms: desktop, server, mobile OS: mac, windows, linux, ios, android Introduced: 1.0 Security:

# Syntax

wordOffset(wordToFind, stringToSearch [, wordsToSkip])

# Params

- wordToFind : A single word or an expression that evaluates to a word. - stringToSearch : - wordsToSkip : A non-negative integer. If you don't specify how many wordsToSkip, the wordOffset function does not skip any words.

# Examples

wordOffset("hello","Well, hello there") -- returns 2

wordOffset("ball","baseball game") -- returns 1

wordOffset("red","A red ball on a red table",2) -- returns 4

# Description

Use the wordOffset function to find which word a string occurs in.

The value returned by the wordOffset function is the number of the word where wordToFind first appears in stringToSearch. If the wordToFind is not in stringToSearch, the wordOffset function returns zero. If the wordToFind contains more than one word, the wordOffset function always returns zero, even if the wordToFind appears in the stringToSearch.

If you specify how many wordsToSkip, the wordOffset function skips the specified number of words in the stringToSearch. The value return is relative to this starting point instead of the beginning of the stringToSearch.

For example, if the stringToSearch is "This is a test" and the wordToFind is "test", wordOffset(wordToFind,stringToSearch) returns 4. However, wordOffset(wordToFind, stringToSearch,3) returns 1, even though it is finding the same occurrence, because the first three words are skipped.

# Tags

text processing,

# See

- **keyword:** integer, words, word, string - **operator:** is among - **property:** caseSensitive, wholeMatches - **function:** offset, lineOffset, itemOffset, value - **glossary:** return, non-negative - **control structure:** function