What does the REPLACE function do in Excel?

The REPLACE function in Excel is specifically designed to alter a text string by substituting a specified portion of that string with another text string. This function takes several arguments: the original text, the starting position in the original text where the replacement should begin, the number of characters to be replaced, and the new text that will replace the old text.

For example, if you have the text "Hello World" and you want to replace "World" with "Excel," you can use the REPLACE function to specify the starting position where "W" is (which is position 7), the number of characters to replace (which is 5 for the word "World"), and the new text "Excel." The result would be "Hello Excel."

This ability to target specific sections of text for replacement within a larger string makes the REPLACE function invaluable for data manipulation, especially for cleaning or formatting text data effectively. The other options do not align with the functionality of the REPLACE function, which solidifies option B as the correct choice.