The [[LTRIM$]] function removes leading space characters from a [[STRING]] value.


{{PageSyntax}}
:{{Parameter|return$}} = [[LTRIM$]]({{Parameter|text$}})


{{PageDescription}}
* {{Parameter|text$}} is the [[STRING]] value to trim.
* If {{Parameter|text$}} contains no leading space characters, it is returned unchanged.
* Convert fixed length [[STRING]] values by using a different {{parameter|return$}} variable.
* Can be used to trim the leading space of a positive numerical value converted to a string value by [[STR$]].


{{PageExamples}}
''Example 1:'' Trimming a positive string number.
{{CodeStart}}
value = 12345
number$ = {{Cl|LTRIM$}}({{Cl|STR$}}(value)) 'converting number to string removes right PRINT space
{{Cl|PRINT}} "[" + number$ + "]" '' ''
{{CodeEnd}}
{{OutputStart}}[12345]
{{OutputEnd}}


''Example 2:'' Trimming leading spaces from text strings.
{{CodeStart}} '' ''
{{Cl|PRINT}} {{Cl|LTRIM$}}("some text")
{{Cl|PRINT}} {{Cl|LTRIM$}}("   some text") '' ''
{{CodeEnd}}
{{OutputStart}}some text
some text
{{OutputEnd}}


''Example 3:'' A TRIM$ function to trim spaces off of both ends of a string.
{{codeStart}} '' ''
text$ = "        Text String           "
trimmed$ = TRIM$(text$)
{{Cl|PRINT}} {{Cl|CHR$}}(26) + trimmed$ + {{Cl|CHR$}}(27) '' ''

{{Cl|FUNCTION}} TRIM$(text$)
TRIM$ = {{Cl|LTRIM$}}({{Cl|RTRIM$}}(text$))
{{Cl|END FUNCTION}} '' ''
{{CodeEnd}}
{{OutputStart}}→Text String←
{{OutputEnd}}


{{PageSeeAlso}}
* [[RTRIM$]], [[STR$]]
* [[LEFT$]], [[RIGHT$]]
* [[HEX$]], [[MID$]]


{{PageNavigation}}
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