# Strings cut The Strings cut step returns a snippet of an input string based on a range of character locations. For example, you may need to parse the time “11:00” out of a filename “11:00 am update”. You would use Strings cut to return the substring starting at an index of 0 and ending before the index 5. **Note:** If you specify locations outside of the character length of the string, Strings cut returns a blank string. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.pentaho.com/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/strings-cut.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.