Excel: If cell contains formula examples

The tutorial provides a number of "Excel if contains" formula examples that show how to return something in another column if a target cell contains a required value, how to search with partial match and test multiple criteria with OR as well as AND logic.

One of the most common tasks in Excel is checking whether a cell contains a value of interest. What kind of value can that be? Just any text or number, specific text, or any value at all (not empty cell).

There exist several variations of "If cell contains" formula in Excel, depending on exactly what values you want to find. Generally, you will use the IF function to do a logical test, and return one value when the condition is met (cell contains) and/or another value when the condition is not met (cell does not contain). The below examples cover the most frequent scenarios.

If cell contains any value, then

For starters, let's see how to find cells that contain anything at all: any text, number, or date. For this, we are going to use a simple IF formula that checks for non-blank cells.

IF(cell<>"", value_to_return, "")

For example, to return "Not blank" in column B if column A's cell in the same row contains any value, you enter the following formula in B2, and then double click the small green square in the lower-right corner to copy the formula down the column:

=IF(A2<>"", "Not blank", "")

The result will look similar to this:
Excel formula: If cell contains any value

If cell contains text, then

If you want to find only cells with text values ignoring numbers and dates, then use IF in combination with the ISTEXT function. Here's the generic formula to return some value in another cell if a target cell contains any text:

IF(ISTEXT(cell), value_to_return, "")

Supposing, you want to insert the word "yes" in column B if a cell in column A contains text. To have it done, put the following formula in B2:

=IF(ISTEXT(A2), "Yes", "")
Excel formula: If cell contains any text

If cell contains number, then

In a similar fashion, you can identify cells with numeric values (numbers and dates). For this, use the IF function together with ISNUMBER:

IF(ISNUMBER(cell), value_to_return, "")

The following formula returns "yes" in column B if a corresponding cell in column A contains any number:

=IF(ISNUMBER(A2), "Yes", "")
Excel formula: Identify cells with numbers

If cell contains specific text

Finding cells containing certain text (or numbers or dates) is easy. You write a regular IF formula that checks whether a target cell contains the desired text, and type the text to return in the value_if_true argument.

IF(cell="text", value_to_return, "")

For example, to find out if cell A2 contains "apples", use this formula:

=IF(A2="apples", "Yes", "")
If cell contains specific text, return something in another column

If cell does not contain specific text

If you are looking for the opposite result, i.e. return some value to another column if a target cell does not contain the specified text ("apples"), then do one of the following.

Supply an empty string ("") in the value_if_true argument, and text to return in the value_if_false argument:

=IF(A2="apples", "", "Not apples")

Or, put the "not equal to" operator in logical_test and text to return in value_if_true:

=IF(A2<>"apples", "Not apples", "")

Either way, the formula will produce this result:
If cell does not contain certain text, return something in another column

If cell contains text: case-sensitive formula

To force your formula to distinguish between uppercase and lowercase characters, use the EXACT function that checks whether two text strings are exactly equal, including the letter case:

=IF(EXACT(A2,"APPLES"), "Yes", "")
Case-sensitive formula: If cell contains text

You can also input the model text string in some cell (say in C1), fix the cell reference with the $ sign ($C$1), and compare the target cell with that cell:

=IF(EXACT(A2,$C$1), "Yes", "")
Check if each value in a column is exactly the same as in another cell

If cell contains specific text string (partial match)

We have finished with trivial tasks and move on to more challenging and interesting ones :) To check if a cell contains specific a given character or substring as part of the cell content, you can use one of these formulas:

Formula 1

IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("text", cell)), value_to_return, "")

Working from the inside out, here is what the formula does:

  • The SEARCH function searches for a text string, and if the string is found, returns the position of the first character, the #VALUE! error otherwise.
  • The ISNUMBER function checks whether SEARCH succeeded or failed. If SEARCH has returned any number, ISNUMBER returns TRUE. If SEARCH results in an error, ISNUMBER returns FALSE.
  • Finally, the IF function returns the specified value for cells that have TRUE in the logical test, an empty string ("") otherwise.

Formula 2

IF(COUNTIF(cell, "*"&"text"&"*"), value_to_return, "")

Here, the COUNTIF function finds out how many times a certain text appears in a cell. To count partial matches, you place the wildcard character (*) on both sides of the text. If the count is greater than zero, then IF returns the specified value, otherwise - a blank cell.

And now, let's see how this generic formula works in real-life worksheets.

If cell contains certain text, put a value in another cell

Supposing you have a list of orders in column A and you want to find orders with a specific identifier, say "A-". The task can be accomplished with this formula:

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("A-", A2)), "Valid", "")

or

=IF(COUNTIF(A2, "*"&"A-"&"*"), "Valid", "")

Instead of hardcoding the string in the formula, you can input it in a separate cell (E1), the reference that cell in your formula:

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH($E$1,A2)), "Valid", "")

or

=IF(COUNTIF(A2, "*"&$E$1&"*"), "Valid", "")

For the formula to work correctly, be sure to lock the address of the cell containing the string with the $ sign (absolute cell reference).
Excel formula: If cell contains specific text string

If cell contains specific text, copy it to another column

If you wish to copy the contents of the valid cells somewhere else, simply supply the address of the evaluated cell (A2) in the value_if_true argument:

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH($E$1,A2)),A2,"")

The screenshot below shows the results:
If cell contains specific text, copy it to another column

If cell contains specific text: case-sensitive formula

In both of the above examples, the formulas are case-insensitive. In situations when you work with case-sensitive data, use the FIND function instead of SEARCH to distinguish the character case.

For example, the following formula will identify only orders with the uppercase "A-" ignoring lowercase "a-".

=IF(ISNUMBER(FIND("A-",A2)),"Valid","")
Case-sensitive formula: If cell contains specific text

If cell contains, then return value – multiple conditions

A single ‘if cell contains’ statement is easy, right? But what if you need to check multiple conditions in the same formula and return different results? That is, if a cell contains some text, then return something, if it contains another text, then return something else, and so on.

To evaluate multiple conditions in a cell, you can use nested "if cell contains" statements. This allows you to create a chain of checks, with each condition leading to a specific result. Here are two generic formulas to achieve this:

Formula 1

Use the COUNTIF function to count how many times a certain text appears in a cell. If the count is greater than zero, then return the corresponding value. Otherwise, check the next condition.

IF(COUNTIF(cell, "*text1*"), value1, IF(COUNTIF(cell, "*text2*"), value2, IF(COUNTIF(cell, "*text3*"), value3, "")))

Formula 2

Use the SEARCH function to find the position of a certain text in a cell. If the position is a number, then return the corresponding value. Otherwise, check the next condition.

IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("text1", cell)), value1, IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("text2", cell)), value2, IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("text3", cell)), value3, "")))

For example, to checks if cell A2 contains "apple", "banana" or "lemon" and return the corresponding name of the fruit in cell B3, you can use one of these formulas:

=IF(COUNTIF(A2, "*apple*"), "Apple", IF(COUNTIF(A2, "*Banana*"), "Banana", IF(COUNTIF(A2, "*lemon*"), "Lemon", "")))

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("apple", A2)), "Apple", IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("banana", A2)), "Banana", IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("lemon", A2)), "Lemon", "")))
If cell contains, then return value with multiple conditions

To fit your specific needs, you can extend the chain of conditions as necessary to handle more cases.

If cell contains one of many text strings (OR logic)

To identify cells containing at least one of many things you are searching for, use one of the following formulas.

IF OR ISNUMBER SEARCH formula

The most obvious approach would be to check for each substring individually and have the OR function return TRUE in the logical test of the IF formula if at least one substring is found:

IF(OR(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("string1", cell)), ISNUMBER(SEARCH("string2", cell))), value_to_return, "")

Supposing you have a list of SKUs in column A and you want to find those that include either "dress" or "skirt". You can have it done by using this formula:

=IF(OR(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("dress",A2)),ISNUMBER(SEARCH("skirt",A2))),"Valid ","")
Excel formula to check if a cell contains one of many strings

The formula works pretty well for a couple of items, but it's certainly not the way to go if you want to check for many things. In this case, a better approach would be using the SUMPRODUCT function as shown in the next example.

SUMPRODUCT ISNUMBER SEARCH formula

If you are dealing with multiple text strings, searching for each string individually would make your formula too long and difficult to read. A more elegant solution would be embedding the ISNUMBER SEARCH combination into the SUMPRODUCT function, and see if the result is greater than zero:

SUMPRODUCT(--ISNUMBER(SEARCH(strings, cell)))>0

For example, to find out if A2 contains any of the words input in cells D2:D4, use this formula:

=SUMPRODUCT(--ISNUMBER(SEARCH($D$2:$D$4,A2)))>0

Alternatively, you can create a named range containing the strings to search for, or supply the words directly in the formula:

=SUMPRODUCT(--ISNUMBER(SEARCH({"dress","skirt","jeans"},A2)))>0

Either way, the result will be similar to this:
Another way to check if a cell contains one of many things

To make the output more user-friendly, you can nest the above formula into the IF function and return your own text instead of the TRUE/FALSE values:

=IF(SUMPRODUCT(--ISNUMBER(SEARCH($D$2:$D$4,A2)))>0, "Valid", "")
An improved 'If cell contains' formula with OR logic

How this formula works

At the core, you use ISNUMBER together with SEARCH as explained in the previous example. In this case, the search results are represented in the form of an array like {TRUE;FALSE;FALSE}. If a cell contains at least one of the specified substrings, there will be TRUE in the array. The double unary operator (--) coerces the TRUE / FALSE values to 1 and 0, respectively, and delivers an array like {1;0;0}. Finally, the SUMPRODUCT function adds up the numbers, and we pick out cells where the result is greater than zero.

If cell contains several strings (AND logic)

In situations when you want to find cells containing all of the specified text strings, use the already familiar ISNUMBER SEARCH combination together with IF AND:

IF(AND(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("string1",cell)), ISNUMBER(SEARCH("string2",cell))), value_to_return,"")

For example, you can find SKUs containing both "dress" and "blue" with this formula:

=IF(AND(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("dress",A2)),ISNUMBER(SEARCH("blue",A2))),"Valid ","")

Or, you can type the strings in separate cells and reference those cells in your formula:

=IF(AND(ISNUMBER(SEARCH($D$2,A2)),ISNUMBER(SEARCH($E$2,A2))),"Valid ","")
'If cell contains' formula with AND logic

As an alternative solution, you can count the occurrences of each string and check if each count is greater than zero:

=IF(AND(COUNTIF(A2,"*dress*")>0,COUNTIF(A2,"*blue*")>0),"Valid","")

The result will be exactly like shown in the screenshot above.

How to return different results based on cell value

In case you want to compare each cell in the target column against another list of items and return a different value for each match, use one of the following approaches.

Nested IFs

The logic of the nested IF formula is as simple as this: you use a separate IF function to test each condition, and return different values depending on the results of those tests.

IF(cell="lookup_text1", "return_text1", IF(cell="lookup_text2", "return_text2", IF(cell="lookup_text3", "return_text3", "")))

Supposing you have a list of items in column A and you want to have their abbreviations in column B. To have it done, use the following formula:

=IF(A2="apple", "Ap", IF(A2="avocado", "Av", IF(A2="banana", "B", IF(A2="lemon", "L", ""))))
Nested IF formula to return different results depending on the target cell value

For full details about nested IF's syntax and logic, please see Excel nested IF - multiple conditions in a single formula.

Lookup formula

If you are looking for a more compact and better understandable formula, use the LOOKUP function with lookup and return values supplied as vertical array constants:

LOOKUP(cell, {"lookup_text1";"lookup_text2";"lookup_text3";…}, {"return_text1";"return_text2";"return_text3";…})

For accurate results, be sure to list the lookup values in alphabetical order, from A to Z.

=LOOKUP(A2,{"apple";"avocado";"banana";"lemon"},{"Ap";"Av";"B";"L"})
Lookup formula to return different results based on the cell value

For more information, please see Lookup formula as an alternative to nested IFs.

Vlookup formula

When working with a variable data set, it may be more convenient to input a list of matches in separate cells and retrieve them by using a Vlookup formula, e.g.:

=VLOOKUP(A2, $D$2:$E$5, 2,FALSE )
Vlookup formula to return different matches

For more information, please see Excel VLOOKUP tutorial for beginners.

This is how you check if a cell contains any value or specific text in Excel. Next week, we are going to continue looking at Excel's If cell contains formulas and learn how to count or sum relevant cells, copy or remove entire rows containing those cells, and more. Please stay tuned!

Practice workbook

Excel If Cell Contains - formula examples (.xlsx file)

Table of contents

240 comments

  1. Please could you assist to not allow people to select more than one option. Drop down on both columns to select data or voice. So if a person selects 10GB data, the voice cell must be inactive . if they select voice, data must be inactive

    Only Data Only Voice
    10GB
    125MIN

  2. Hi! I am attempting to replace the contents of a cell with a number based on whether or not that same number is found in within the cell. Here is the formula I've attempted but I cannot figure out why it is consistently returning a "0" rather than the corresponding number:

    =IF(C29(C29, "*1*"), 1, IF(COUNTIF(C29, "*2*"), C29, IF(COUNTIF(C29, "*3*"), 3, IF(COUNTIF(C29, "*4*"), 4, IF(COUNTIF(C29, "*5*"), 5, "")))))

    Any help would be greatly appreciated!
    Lacy

    • Hi! Your formula returns nothing because it contains an error. The formula may look like this if you use the COUNTIF function in all conditions:

      =IF(COUNTIF(C29, "*1*"), 1, IF(COUNTIF(C29, "*2*"), C29, IF(COUNTIF(C29, "*3*"), 3, IF(COUNTIF(C29, "*4*"), 4, IF(COUNTIF(C29, "*5*"), 5, "")))))

      This formula works only with text values. If C29 contains a number, the function returns 0.
      It is also unclear what the formula should return if the text contains multiple numbers. For example, "1234".
      To offer you a formula, explain your task in more detail.

  3. When A column contains value then B column will write "Yes". When A Column is Blank then B Column "Pending" will be written. When A Column is 0.00 then B Column "NO" will be written.
    Use conditional format

  4. Hi I have a table where a column captures days overdue (Table2[Ontime / Overdue])
    In the same sheet I have a summary at the top showing [P1 etc is the cell it is in]:

    [P1] Overdue by 1 Days
    [P2] Overdue by 2 Days
    [P3] Overdue by 3 Days
    [P4] Overdue by 4 Days
    [P5] Overdue by 5 Days
    [P6] Overdue by >5 Days

    (formula in Q1 etc follows =COUNTIF(Table2[Ontime / Overdue],P1) where P1 is a cell with text "Overdue by 1 Days". It is text and number

    I am specifically looking to have the [Q6] "Overdue by >5 days" return how many cells have the text showing anything greater than 5 days, though I am having trouble having the formula calculate where it searches the cells (Table2[Ontime / Overdue] for where a number greater than 5 is present.

    Any help is much appreciated.

    • Hi! If I understand your task correctly, you cannot conditionally count text strings that contain different numbers greater than 5. You can only compare to a number, not text.

      • Thank you for your response, that is good to know. I found a workaround by using another column to use standard count for (Table2[Ontime / Overdue]), then counting how many times that column had instances >5 :)

  5. I have data in one column as bellow

    Ram
    Ram / Ram
    Ram / Ram / Shyam
    Shyam / Jay / raj

    I want, if only ' Ram' in cell then only Ram

    If multiple only ram in cell then multiple ram

    If Ram with other then I want answer Ram
    with other

    If ram not available in cell then answer other

    I want formula

    • Hi! Based on your description, it is hard to completely understand your task. You can count how many times the word "Ram" is found in the text. Split the text into words using the TEXTSPLIT function and count the number of the desired word using the SUMPRODUCT function. You can remove extra spaces with the TRIM function. For example:

      =SUMPRODUCT(--(TRIM(TEXTSPLIT(A2,"/"))="Ram"))

  6. Hello - I am sure an easy one but using the formula "=IF(AY11"", "1", "")" ... The resulting retunr of 1, even when formated to number isn't pivotable and is unable to sum the qty of one's on the said Pivot report.

    Any ideas anyone would be greatly appreciated.

  7. NAME 20 D+ 20 C - 30 B 30 B 23 C 25 C+ - 20 148 C

    in the mark list included mark and grade (total mark is 148 with grade)
    i want min grade formula in excel
    please

  8. Hello!

    I have a question about VLOOPUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup]). Can we use an array in the "lookup_value"? Something like {"string1";"string2";"string3"}. I just have a long list of complex names, which are sometimes different, but mean the same thing. And in order to match them to the right IDs I need a complex search not out of one word, but multiple. How can I do it? Maybe not VLOOKUP, but something else?

    • Hi! If you use {"string1"; "string2"; "string3"} as lookup_value, you will get an array of three search results. This formula will return TRUE if at least one value is found:

      =SUM(--NOT(ISNA(VLOOKUP({"aaa";"bbb"},B2:C30,2,FALSE))))>0

      For more information, read: ISNA function with VLOOKUP.
      I hope it’ll be helpful. If something is still unclear, please feel free to ask.

      • Thanks, but it looks like I phrased the question poorly. I ment if it is possible to have {"string1";"string2";"string3"} as one of the options in the table_array. So that VLOOKUP would have different variations of one name for each ID. Because now when I put a certain name as lookup_value and then put in one cell of the table_array something like {"1_variation";"2_variation" (correct one);"3_variation"}, it gives me N/A, instead of ID, whcih I was looking for. And if I put TRUE as [range_lookup], then sometimes it gives the wrong answer because of alphabetic structure. Sorry for the inconviniece.

        • Hi! You can write all the variations in one cell as a text string. For example, "1_variation 2_variation 3_variation". Use the TEXTSPLIT function to get an array of variations from this text string. The formula might look something like this:

          =SUM(--NOT(ISNA(VLOOKUP(TEXTSPLIT(H1," "),B2:C30,2,FALSE))))>0

          I hope it’ll be helpful.

          • Thank you again! Maybe I am getting something wrong, but your formula has TEXTSPLIT in lookup_value, but variations are inside of the values of table_array. I have multiple versions of one name for each ID in order to cover different spelling and those variations are in the table_array, together with their respective IDs (B2:C30 in your formula). It looks like {"1_variation";"2_variation";"3_variation"} | ID. Lookup_value is just a name that should have an ID from the B2:C30, depending on spelling. Also, your formula returns Bool, but I need ID itself. Is there a way to do it?

            • Hi! Each of your new questions is different from the previous question. To give you an accurate answer, give an example of the source data and the result you want to get. Describe the problem accurately and in detail.

              • Hi! I said "I ment if it is possible to have {"string1";"string2";"string3"} as one of the options in the table_array" and "but your formula has TEXTSPLIT in lookup_value, but variations are inside of the values of table_array", so I did't really say anyting different, but if it still is not clear for you, then I will give this example:

                | | | |
                №| A | B | C | D |
                -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                | | | |
                | | | |
                1 | 2_var_for_tag1 | VLOOKUP(A1,C1:D10,2, true) -> tag1 | {"1_var_for_tag1";"2_var_for_tag1";"3_var_for_tag1"} | tag1 |
                | | | |
                2 | 3_var_for_tag2 | VLOOKUP(A1,C1:D10,2, true) -> tag2 | {"1_var_for_tag2";"2_var_for_tag2";"3_var_for_tag2"} | tag2 |
                | | | |
                3 | 1_var_for_tag3 | VLOOKUP(A1,C1:D10,2, true) -> tag3 | {"1_var_for_tag3";"2_var_for_tag3";"3_var_for_tag3"} | tag3 |
                | | | |
                ...

                And so on! Simply adding a new row for each variation won't work, because I have too many rows with data. Hope it will help!

  9. Hi!

    I have a fairly specific case and any help would be greatly appreciated. There is a list of signal names that may be slightly different but mean the same thing, for example in column A I have:

    Tempreture in the boiler
    T in the boiler
    Pressure in the tube
    Tube pressure
    P in the tube

    And for each signal there is a list of tags that are always the same, for example they are in column F:

    TmBl
    PrTb

    I need to map different versions of the same signal to its tag in the next column, including the possibility of different spellings. So you should end up with something like this:

    Tempreture in the boiler TmBl
    T in the boiler TmBl
    Pressure in the tube PrTb
    Tube pressure PrTb
    P in the tube PrTb

    I know that I can do this with =IF(COUNTIF(A1;"*Signal1*");"Tag1";IF(COUNTIF(...) ) , but this approach is too long and messy in case I have 50 signals and 150 variations of them. Is there another convenient solution? Maybe I could have some kind of dictionary with keywords for each signal or something like that?

    Thank You in advance!

      • Thank you for the reply, but I am not sure if you can use VLOOKUP or INDEX MATCH with the multiple keywords search. For example, I might have something like:

        T after the boiler
        Temperature after the boiler
        T before the boiler before the valve
        T before the boiler after the valve

        Which means that if my keyword will be only "T", then I will get only the first option. And if I use such keywords as:

        ("T", "after", "boiler")
        ("T", "before", "boiler", "valve")
        ("T", "before", "boiler", "after", "valve")

        Then I will loose the second record where I have "Temprature" instead of "T". So it should be something like:

        ("T", "Temperature", "after", "boiler")
        ("T", "before", "boiler", "valve")
        ("T", "before", "boiler", "after", "valve")

        Which means that the formula should be able to take either "T" or "Temperature" AND other words in order to get it right. Is there a way to do this in Excel?

  10. I am trying to identify the column # of a cell within a range that contains 2 different strings of text (ordered if necessary), but those are not the only strings within the cell.

    e.g. A1 = string 1, string 2, string 3; A2 = string 1, string 4, string 5; A3 = string 3, string 4, string 6

    I would like the formula to look at the range A1:A3 and return the position of the cell with string 1 and string 5. As noted above it can be written so they are ordered or unordered, if one is easier than the other.

  11. I have a sheet with a list of clients and a list of the companies they work for. Is there a way to say if the cell is equal to a company name to then show the employee name on a separate sheet??

  12. let say i have a cell that contain "Monday morning, tuesday morning" but by using the if function who do i only say yes to one of them which is Monday?

  13. Hi, I have a large set of data with numerous columns, I need a formula that will search if any cells in a row contain a certain key word, if so, I want it to return the FULL contents of that cell.

    Example, say I have in row 2, A2 (Star), A3 ($56), A4 (Changed Sales Rep), A5 (3/4/23 updated to cancelled), a6 (Project Name)

    And I want the formula to search for 'Cancelled' and return everything in the cell, in this case it would be cell A5 and the return should be '3/4/23 updated to cancelled'

    I essentially have a ton of terrible data outputted that cannot easily be delimeted and I need to find the date tied to any substring within the cells that contain the word cancelled.

    Thanks in advance.

  14. I'm trying to figure out how to get column c cells which contain various number .ie 20227, 208566, I want column d cells to look for a specific number in C and fill D with the value in A i.e shoe, house etc

  15. If the cells in a particular Row (e.g: "m") contains a particular text, then it should be zero , else the amount of another row (e.g: "k") should be shown. Could you please explain?

  16. okay so i have 261 rows of data in columns a through h. if one of 32 names is in column A2:A261 i need to fill in the data in lines b/row to h/row for example

    =IF(A2:A261=A268,B268:H268, IF(A2:A261=A269,B269:H269) ) if i do trhis all the way to =IF(A2:A261,A299,B299:H299) followed by 32 closing brackets will this work to fill my data

  17. Good Morning,

    I have a slightly different request.

    I am trying to write out a sum in one cell, 1+2 for example and in the next cell I want the equation to read =(previous cell) so that it returns the product of the previous equation.

    I know I could put each part in a different cell and write the sum as =(first number cell) + (second umber cell) but the list of sums might contain variations or longer sums such as 1*3*(5/4)+7.

    Many thanks

  18. I have a excel sheet contains petty cash id, discerption and amount. From that each description I want to pop up the result based on the name.
    note: Each description is combination of name with voucher number and code.

    • To ensure clear understanding of your task, can you provide an example of the source data and the desired result you are aiming for?

  19. So I worked out how to make my IF formula work but now I'm facing another issue.

    I have in column Q the ages of some people. I need stats on their age.
    So in the following columns I have age ranges R=13-25, S=26-35, T=36-64, U=65+

    So for the person in Q21 (which is 20) I've got: =IF(AND(Q21>13,Q21<25),"1","0") in cell R21 and in R21 a 1 appears as they're 20 years old. I've made this work for all the people and there are 0's and 1' in the columns to notate their age. Now I want to total how many people are 13-25. My SUM formula isn't working. Is that because It's not reading those cells with the 0's & 1's as numbers because of the IF formula in the cell?

    Another SUM formula is able to add up the 1's as a result of an XLOOKUP formula.

    I hope this made sense...

      • Thank you! I didn't know having the number written with quotation marks around it gave it a different value than without. It's working now.

  20. I'm using Excel 2007.

    I want the Date of Best Time from all like events displayed in the cell next to Best Time. No luck so far using IF, INDEX(MATCH, VLOOKUP etc., etc. they all give me #Value, False, #N/A, etc. I know barely enough Excel to be dangerous.

    I use 12+/- unique MIN(IF functions in Sheet1 to extract the (minimum or fastest) Best Times for each of about 12+/- unique meet events in Sheet2 composed of Date, Col A, Stroke (of 5) Col D, Distance (50, 100,etc. (9)) Col E, Course (Yds/Mtrs) Col F, and Fastest Time (mm:SS.00) Col G, from Sheet2 (Log). Best Time is also posted into Col2 of Sheet1 "Summary." The list is routinely manually updated with new meet info (new rows of event data). The data starts at row 13 and continues to row 154. (Col A of Sheet2 "Log" contains the date of each race event. MIN(IF inserts the Best time in Col B of Sheet1. Sheet1 has other data not associated with this problem.

    {=MIN(IF($D$13:$D$154=$D$1,IF($E$13:E$154=$E$1,IF($F$13:$F$154=$F$1,TIMEVALUE($G$13:$G$154)))))}

    Specific versions of this function (this one is for a 50 meters freestyle event) work perfectly- I get the Best time . (For events not swum I have entered event rows with temporary data records for each stroke, distance, course, but a 0 in the time column in rows at the bottom of the Sheet2 table . That causes "#Value" to appear in the Best Time column and multiple "#," hash tags in the other derivative cells on Sheet1 which is just fine for me, however, just in case I shorten the ranges to exclude these null records when testing various Date functions.)

    Now I want Date of Best time from Sheet2 to appear in Sheet1, Col C. This is the last function I tried: It does not work: (The range (130:144) applies to one section)

    {=INDEX(Log!$A$130:$A$144,MATCH($B$63,Log!$G$130:$G$144,))}

    Thanks.

      • Thanks.

        I still can't get either formula to work. Your formula looks the same as mine, except I forgot the match type. (0) which should mean the look-up array doesn't need to be sorted which mine isn't.

        I thought I read that the look-up array must be in or start in the left-most column of the array? T/F? Mine was in Col 7 until I changed it to Col 1 for more tests.

        Just in case, I moved and inserted Col 7 (G) before Col 1 (A) on Log (Sheet2) and re-tried INDEX/MATCH and VLOOKUP again. I tried both w/ and w/o SCE

        {=INDEX(Log!$B$130:$B$144,MATCH($B$63,Log!$A$130:$A$144,0))}

        =VLOOKUP($B$63,Log!$A$130:$B$144,1,FALSE)

        Neither worked. "If the lookup value is not found in the lookup array, the #N/A error is returned"- That is exactly what I'm seeing. I verified the look-up value (time) is in the lookup array range and both times are formatted the same- mm:ss.00. What am I missing??

Post a comment



Thank you for your comment!
When posting a question, please be very clear and concise. This will help us provide a quick and relevant solution to
your query. We cannot guarantee that we will answer every question, but we'll do our best :)