MySQL LPAD() Function

Left-pad the string with "ABC", to a total length of 20:

SELECT LPAD("SQL Tutorial", 20, "ABC");

Definition and Usage

The LPAD() function left-pads a string with another string, to a certain length.

Note: Also look at the RPAD() function.

LPAD( string, length, lpad_string)

Parameter	Description
string	Required. The original string. If the length of the original string is larger than the length parameter, this function removes the overfloating characters from string
length	Required. The length of the string after it has been left-padded
lpad_string	Required. The string to left-pad to string

Works in:	From MySQL 4.0

Left-pad the text in "CustomerName" with "ABC", to a total length of 30:

SELECT LPAD(CustomerName, 30, "ABC") AS LeftPadCustomerName
FROM Customers;