"scanning" a string in a cell?

[ryansupak]

hi, id like to write what is perhaps a custom function - and perhaps an existing function or macro - to scan a cell, character by character.

for instance, the cell might contain:

HAPPINESSVILLE 2880244-2378, RHUBARB

i'd like to be able to delete everything but the number, and there are certain cases in which everything after the numbering starts AND before the comma should be retained.

the heart of the matter is: im just trying to determine the simplest way to "scan" a string in a cell, character by character, and to implement simple conditionals based on that.

thanks in advance,
rs

 

[Aladin Akyurek]

Care to give a bit more examples along with expected results?