---
title: "Use the STARTSWITH Function to Validate Starting Text"
slug: "startswith-function"
description: "Learn to use the STARTSWITH function to check if a Text begins with specific characters, allowing you to validate and organize Text entries in Pigment. "
updated: 2025-05-30T09:42:22Z
published: 2025-08-22T10:57:28Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.pigment.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# STARTSWITH function

## ​​Description

Determines whether a Text starts with a given Text.

## Syntax

`STARTSWITH(Start Text, Text to Search [, Is Case Sensitive])`

## Arguments

| Argument | Type | Dimensions | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| *Start Text* (required) | Text | Any Dimensions | Starting text to find. |
| *Text to Search* (required) | Text | No Dimension or Dimensions of *Start Text* | Text to search in. |
| *Is Case Sensitive* (optional) | Boolean | No Dimension or Dimensions of *Start Text* | Whether the search is done with case sensitivity. By default, the search is not case sensitive. |

## Returns

| Type | Dimensions |
| --- | --- |
| Boolean | Dimensions of *Start Text* |

`TRUE` if *Text to Search*starts with *Start Text*.

`FALSE` if *Text to Search*does not start with *Start Text.*

## Examples

| Formula | Result | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `STARTSWITH(“ab”, “abc”)` | `TRUE` | The Text “abc” starts with “ab”. |
| `STARTSWITH(“b”, “abc”)` | `FALSE` | The Text “abc” does not start with “b”. |
| `STARTSWITH(“A”, “abc”)` | `TRUE` | The search is not case sensitive by default. Searching for the Text “A” is equivalent to searching for the Text “a”. |
| `STARTWITH(“A”, “abc", TRUE)` | `FALSE` | The search is case sensitive. “abc” does not start with “A”. |

## See also

Related articles: [FIND](/v1/docs/find-function), [CONTAINS](/v1/docs/contains-function), [ENDSWITH](/v1/docs/endswith-function)

> [!TIP]
> More of a hands-on learner?
> 
> Talk to your Customer Success Manager about downloading the Functions and Modifiers in Pigment Application into your workspace. It includes examples of every formula and modifier in Pigment!

<style> p[data-block-id] {font-size:1rem;} ul li p[data-block-id] {margin-bottom: 0;} ul[data-type="taskList"] li div p[data-block-id] {margin-bottom: 0;} ol li p[data-block-id] {margin-bottom: 0;} table tbody th p[data-block-id] { margin-bottom: 0;} blockquote p[data-block-id] {margin-bottom: 0 !important;} &nbsp;p[data-block-id]:empty::after {content: "\00A0";} </style>