"In Between" function that behaves similarly to a "Mid String" function

[KP_SoCal]

In column A, I have a string within a cell with an alpha-numeric constant of 1A23 at the beginning and 432A1 at the end. In between could be any number of alpha-numeric characters. In column B, I need a formula that will extract the variable from the middle of these two constants in column A. The reason why I can't use the mid, left, or right functions is because the lenght of the variable could change from cell to cell.

-examle-

A1: 1A23abcd4A321
A2: 1A23abcdefg4A321
A3: 1A23ab4A321
A4: 1A23abcde4A321

B1: abcd
B2: abcdefg
B3: ab
B4: abcde


If possible I'd like to accomplish this without the use of VBA by strictly taking advantage of excel's built-in formula functions (if possible). However, if someone knows how to write this in vba, I'd be grateful to see how as well.

 

[nightcrawler23]

a formula like below should do the job even if the length of string in each cell is different

cell B1 =MID(A1,5,(LEN(A1)-4-5))

Avoid spaces in the start and end of strings

 

[mvptomlinson]

You should just need one MID function, as long as the first four and last five characters are always there.

=MID(A1,5,LEN(A1)-9)

 

[KP_SoCal]

You should just need one MID function, as long as the first four and last five characters are always there.

=MID(A1,5,LEN(A1)-9)

Excellent! That accomplished just what I needed!!!