SQL Server RIGHT() Function

The RIGHT() function in SQL Server extracts a specified number of characters from the right-hand side of a string. This is a very useful function for extracting specific parts of text data, such as postal codes from addresses or file extensions from filenames.

RIGHT(): Definition and Usage

RIGHT() is designed to grab a substring from the end of a string. Unlike functions that start extracting from the beginning of a string, `RIGHT()` begins from the rightmost character. If you ask for more characters than exist, it simply returns the entire string.

Syntax


RIGHT(string, number_of_chars)

Parameter Values

Parameter	Description
`string`	The string from which you want to extract characters. This is required.
`number_of_chars`	The number of characters to extract from the right side. If this is greater than the length of the string, the entire string is returned. This is required.

Examples

Extracting Characters from a Literal String

This example extracts the last three characters ("ial") from the string 'SQL Tutorial'.

Syntax


SELECT RIGHT('SQL Tutorial', 3) AS ExtractString;

Output


rial

Extracting Characters from a Column

This example extracts the last five characters from the 'CustomerName' column in the 'Customers' table (assuming a table named 'Customers' exists with a 'CustomerName' column).

Syntax


SELECT RIGHT(CustomerName, 5) AS ExtractString
FROM Customers;

Output


ExtractString
-------------
(The last five characters of each CustomerName will be displayed here.)

Extracting More Characters Than Exist

If you try to extract more characters than exist, the entire string is returned.

Syntax


SELECT RIGHT('SQL Tutorial', 100) AS ExtractString;

Output


SQL Tutorial