--- title: MAGIC function for returning the number of leading characters description: A useful tip when creating a user-defined field that performs string extraction based upon the number of leading characters within a string. --- [![IPeopleHealthcare_White](https://blog.ipeople.com/hubfs/IPeopleHealthcare_White.png)](https://www.ipeople.com/) - [Home](https://www.ipeople.com) - Products - [Professional Services](https://www.ipeople.com/products/meditech-services/) - [Downtime Product Suite](https://www.ipeople.com/products/suite) - [Benefits](https://www.ipeople.com/benefits) - [About](https://www.ipeople.com/about) - [Contact](https://www.ipeople.com/contact) - [IPeople Blog](https://blog.ipeople.com) November 4, 2021 # MAGIC function for returning the number of leading characters l (that's a lowercase L) is the MAGIC function for returning the number of leading characters for a string.  It takes two arguments, the first of which is the string to search for leading characters, and the second of which is the character to check for.   l(0009876,0) returns 3 because the string 0009876 has three leading characters that match the second argument, 0. This comes in handy on occasion, especially when creating a user-defined field that performs string extraction based upon the number of leading characters within a string.  Some facilities have their patient account numbers beginning with a long string of zeros and need those zeros excluded from the report.  Sometimes the number of leading zeros varies. Topics: [MEDITECH](https://blog.ipeople.com/topic/meditech), [Report Writing](https://blog.ipeople.com/topic/report-writing), [Tips & Tricks](https://blog.ipeople.com/topic/tips-tricks), [Magic Function](https://blog.ipeople.com/topic/magic-function), [Magic System](https://blog.ipeople.com/topic/magic-system), [NPR Report](https://blog.ipeople.com/topic/npr-report), [CS System](https://blog.ipeople.com/topic/cs-system) ## You Might Also Enjoy #### [How to use a MEDITECH Index File as your Detail Segment for an NPR Report](https://blog.ipeople.com/how-to-use-a-meditech-index-file-as-your-detail-segment-for-an-npr-report) Suppose you want to produce a list of RXs for all current Inpatients. This example will ... #### [How to Access NPR Segments that are not available as Detail Segments](https://blog.ipeople.com/how-to-access-npr-segments-that-are-not-available-as-detail-segments) Sometimes MEDITECH does not make a segment available as a Detail Segment in their NPR ... #### [Detail Segment/Index File information screen during lookup](https://blog.ipeople.com/detail-segment/index-file-information-screen-during-lookup) After pressing for a lookup for either Detail Segments or Index Files, press the number ... #### [Using the BFI Field Attribute on NPR Report Writer Screens (MAGIC and C/S)](https://blog.ipeople.com/using-the-bfi-field-attribute-on-npr-report-writer-screens-magic-and-c/s) BFI stands for Before Input. BFI attributes can come in pairs, just like FCL attributes. ... #### [Using S\\ to select Sort Fields, Select Fields, and Report Fields](https://blog.ipeople.com/using-s-to-select-sort-fields-select-fields-and-report-fields) When picking Select Fields, Sort Fields, or Report Fields, users can press for a lookup ... [![IPeopleHealthcare_FullColor](https://blog.ipeople.com/hubfs/IPeopleHealthcare_FullColor.png)](https://www.ipeople.com/) #### CONTACT - [+1-214-222-1125](tel:+1-214-222-1125) - [support@ipeople.com](mailto:support@ipeople.com) - [sales@ipeople.com](mailto:sales@ipeople.com) #### [JOIN OUR TEAM](https://ipeople.bamboohr.com/jobs/) #### FOLLOW - [![Facebook](https://blog.ipeople.com/hubfs/Facebook.svg)](https://www.facebook.com/IPeoplehealthcareTX) - [![Instagram](https://blog.ipeople.com/hubfs/Instagram.svg)](https://www.instagram.com/interfacepeople/) - [![Linkedin](https://blog.ipeople.com/hubfs/Linkedin.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ipeople-healthcare) - [![Twitter](https://blog.ipeople.com/hubfs/Twitter.svg)](https://twitter.com/InterfacePeople) - [![email_icon](https://blog.ipeople.com/hubfs/email_icon.svg)](mailto:support@ipeople.com)   ![](https://blog.ipeople.com/hubfs/IPeople_2022_Aug/Images/Home/arrow-up.png)