> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.integrate.io/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# ETL: INDEXOF

> Find the position of the first occurrence of a substring within a string, searching forward from an optional start index. Returns -1 if not found.

## Description

Returns the position of the first occurrence of a search string in a string field, when searching forward from the start index.

## Syntax

`INDEXOF(string, search_string, start_index)`

## Arguments

*string* - string expression

*search\_string* - string expression to search for

*start\_index* - integer index to start the search (string index starts at 0).

## Examples

`INDEXOF('What wonderful weather in a wonderful world','wonderful',15)` returns 28.

## Notes

The startIndex begins at 0. If the search string is not found, -1 is returned.

## Return value datatype

Int

## Impact of null value

If any (or all) inputs are null, returns null.