Comments on: How to compare data in two Google sheets or columns

Whether there's summer knocking on our doors or winter invading Westeros, we still work in Google Sheets and have to compare different pieces of tables with one another. In this article, I'm sharing ways of matching your data and giving away tips on doing that swiftly. Continue reading →

Comments page 3. Total comments: 217

  1. If I have have a list of 8 digit numbers in lets say column A1:A50 and i have a similar (but slightly different) list in column B1:B50, how can i check if the list of numbers in A1:A50 match/occur with B1:B50?

    Als i am using google drive Excel for this in Dutch

    1. Hello Ash,

      The ways described in this blog post work with complete matches only. As for your records, could you please give me an example of numbers from column A and their similar values from column B?

      1. Thank you for your reply, here is an example:
        A B
        12178715 12178841
        12178784 12179559
        12182831 12181891
        12182835 12182921
        12182843 12183293
        12182908 12183535
        12183449 12183859
        12183486 12183899
        12183508 12184062
        12183871 12184377
        12184246 12184884
        12184345 12184908
        12184681 12184955
        12185347 12184959
        12185363 12185770
        12185454 12186686
        12185471 12186958
        12185627 12188055
        12185671 12188133
        12185719 12188145
        12185760 12188219

        1. Thank you, Ash.
          And sorry for the late reply.
          I can see that only 4-5 first characters are the same between these columns. So how would you like them to match? For example, which one from column B should match the first number in column A?

  2. Hello!
    I wanted to match 1 col with 1 item and place value from other Col into specified col.
    So I was able to do that with =SUMIF(A1:A100,C1,B1:B100)

    But now when I change col A to Dropdown list items and using this formula its giving completely wrong values.
    Anyone know any specific formula for doing this with dropdown values?

    1. Hello Shujaat,

      A drop-down is a single cell with only one record available at a time. The formula can only look at whatever record is currently selected from the drop-down. Thus, if you want to test all 100 cells in column A against the SUMIF criteria, I'm afraid the drop-down is not an option.

  3. Hi Nat

    can you please help me with below scenario

    I have to check for 3 column ( like ID, date, Amount) from file 1 and if these 3 column matches with file 2 then return Transaction_no to 4th Colum from file 2 to file 1 else no match return "not found/ pending"

    1. Hi Ashwini,

      Since you need to match two tables by multiple columns and pull the related data, I'd advise you to use INDEX MATCH for the task. However, to reference another file, you will have to embed the IMPORTRANGE function as well.

      If using formulas is too complicated, we have the add-on that is perfect for the task: Merge Sheets.

  4. I have 4 different people using 1 google sheet each. In column B of each sheet is the unique id (expressed as a number if this matters) of each client. I want to be able to see where there are duplicates of any client id in any of the 4 sheets.
    By this I mean, if sheet 2 has client Z and sheet 3 has client Z, I would like this highlighted. I know how to use conditional formatting to do this on one google sheet.
    However, to do this across the 4 sheets, I thought that I would create a 5th google sheet and import all the data in column B onto sheet 5 then have the same conditional formatting.
    My issue now...
    I am using this formula
    =IMPORTRANGE("https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x8xd2nWW-YaS0SlmvKO-gF8EDzxQfFcKxA2Iag4L4gE/edit#gid=0", "B2:B700")
    and this works for the data on sheet 1
    When I try to do the same with sheet 2, I am having issues. I have tried the below formula but it is having issues. Error codes.
    =IMPORTRANGE("https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x8xd2nWW-YaS0SlmvKO-gF8EDzxQfFcKxA2Iag4L4gE/edit#gid=0", "sheet2!B2:B5")
    The above is even an error code when I try to take the url for the second sheet and plug that in.

    Any ideas? Much appreciated!!

    1. Hello Robert,

      Please look through this explanation on how to use the IMPORTRANGE correctly.

      If you're still getting errors even after following those steps, please specify what errors you're getting exactly. Also, if possible, create a shortened version of your spreadsheet and share it with us (support@apps4gs.com) for checking. NOTE. We keep that Google account for file sharing only, please do not email there. Once you share the file, just confirm by replying here.

  5. Hi. I want to compare columns and find duplicate values between two sheets, can you please help me with it?

  6. I have two lists of names. On one sheet the name is in one column (cell) and in the other sheet it is split into 2 or 3 columns. I need to highlight the names from the single column (Doe, John A) to the sheet that has them as (Doe) (John) (A).

    1. Hello John,

      If you want to skip the steps where you merge name parts in a helper column, you will have to do that directly in your conditional formatting rule formula. It may look like this:
      =MATCH(CONCAT(JOIN(", ", $C2:$D2),IF(COUNTA($E2)>0," "&JOIN(" ",$E2),"")),INDIRECT("Sheet4!$A$2:$A$30"))>0

      Where C2:D2 and E2 are name parts (the one that is split) and INDIRECT references a single column with names in another sheet.

  7. Some please help with the formula/approach for this : How to find Cells containing at least one of the same words in another cell.
    Example CELL A contains Smith Dean K and CELL B contains Smith D Kane. In this case the result should be TRUE because both CELL A and B contains 'Smith'

  8. Hey,
    You guys are great helping everyone with these formulas... hope you could perhaps help me as well.

    I have a google sheets file with data entered in two columns. The data in both columns is separated by commas as such: abc,def,ghi

    So, it's possible to have "abc" for example both in column A and column B.

    I would love to be able to use a formula in column C to tell me if that specific row contains duplicates between column A and B.

    The data is scrambled so can't use any of the formulas I've been reading here.

    Any idea ? thank you in advance for the assistance :-)

    1. Hello!
      If I understand you correctly, you cannot change anything on your sheet. In this case, I cannot help you. Try making a copy of the data to a new sheet and working with it.

  9. I'm trying to compare two lists of account names to find duplicates. Problem is, the two lists have some accounts that have slightly different names (for example, "Company" and "Company LLC" do not show as duplicates). I've used the highlighting option from the last Example 2 on this page, but it only highlights duplicates that are EXACT matches.

    Is there any way to highlight/identify duplicates with similar names or partial matches?

    1. Hi Chris,

      You're right, these formulas are for exact matches. For partial matches, please try the following one assuming you compare columns A and B:
      =ArrayFormula(IF(LEN(A2:A10),IF(COUNTIF(B2:B10,"*"&A2:A10&"*")>=1,"Yes","No"),))

  10. hello i have a trouble about google sheet

    i am trying to compare 2 data from 2 different sheet (same workbook)

    long story short, i want to compare SKU data from sheet "4" column H4:H and compare with sheet "Jangan Di Sentuh" colomn "N2:AH347"

    if the data from H4:H can not be found in data N2:AH347" then highlight with red color

    i have been using this formula but always "invalid formula" in conditional formatting feature

    =ISNA(MATCH(H4,'Jangan Di Sentuh'!N$2:AH$347,0))

    =ISNA(MATCH(H4;'Jangan Di Sentuh'!N$2:AH$347;0))

    any help please

    1. Hello Santo,

      Here's what you need to know:

      1. MATCH can process only one-dimensional arrays: 1 column or 1 row at a time, so you need to shorten N$2:AH$347 to N$2:N$347.
      2. Direct cell references to other sheets don't work in conditional formatting. You need to use indirect references instead. We described them here.

      So here's the formula I would try:
      =ISNA(MATCH(H4,INDIRECT("'Jangan Di Sentuh'!N2:N31"),0))=TRUE

      1. What if instead different sheet, i make different workbook? so everytime there is new SKU, i didnt have to change every workbook SKU List? (i have 8 workbook from 8 different marketer)

        can i combine it with importrange like this?

        =ISNA(MATCH(H4,INDIRECT(=importrange("https://xxx","'Jangan Di Sentuh'!E2:E1427")),0))=TRUE

        1. Susanto,

          I'm afraid IMPORTRANGE doesn't work in conditional formatting. Instead, you can use this function to pull all 8 sheets into one file, and then use INDIRECT in conditional formatting to highlight data.

          1. oh... but many thanks for your help.... you help me a lot. wish you have a great day

      2. MANY THANKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS YOU SAVE A LOT OF MY TIME !!!!!!!!!!!
        IT WORKS LIKE CHARMMMMMMMM

        Every end of the months i need to check 1 by 1 each SKU, every month i have to check minimum 5000++ transactions just to make sure the SKU is correct. You save my lifeeeeee

  11. Wow, some of the comments you answered are amazing. It's crazy how difficult some are.
    I am hoping you can solve mine.
    Conditional formatting in Google Sheets, many columns. If the cell in the right column is greater than the cell in the left column, highlight it. Continuing that across about 50 columns each individual cell compared to the previous and highlighted only if greater than the left cell.

  12. -Names- -Emails- -Rate- -Output-
    Alan a@mail.com $60
    Belle a@mail.com $65
    Cera a@mail.com $70
    Dan b@mail.com $65
    Eleanor b@mail.com $65
    Frank b@mail.com $70
    Gideon b@mail.com $65

    HI!
    I am currently looking for help on this issue im having. Is there a way to:
    Step 1) Find all the emails in column 2 that are exact matches (all are sorted in asc orders using query function).
    Step 2) Compare the rates of those exact matches
    Step 3) Give discount to the lower rates and output the calculated amount in Column 4

    eg.
    There happened to be 3 accounts using a@mail.com. The rates are $60, $65 and $70 accordingly for those 3 accounts. 5% would be given to the $60 and $65 (as there are the lowest compared to the account with the rate $70.). Then repeat the steps for the next few aacounts under b@mail.com. Etc etc.

    Thank you!

    1. Hi Draco,

      If I've got your task right, here's a formula that works for me in the Output column:
      =IF(MAXIFS($C$2:$C$8,$B$2:$B$8,"="&$B2)>C2,5%,"")

      1. Hi Natalia, thank you for the reply! The formula works to some extent. But I realised there is a condition I forgot to include in >.< I'm so sorry.

        Condition:
        'x' account with same email
        - all are same rates, give the discount to x-1 of the accounts.

        eg. 2 accounts with same email
        - if both rates are the same, give 5% disc to only 1 of them (maybe to the first account)

        eg. 3 account with same email
        - if all 3 rates are the same, give 5% disc to only 2 of them. (maybe to the first 2 accounts.)

        Will it be easier if I share the link of the Google sheet to you? =)

        Thanks!

        1. 2nd condition
          eg. 3 account with same email
          - if 2 accounts are the same and they are higher than the 3rd account, give 5% to the lowest and to one of the highest.
          ($60, $65, $65 => $60 account and one of the $65 account will have the discount.)

          Thanks again!

          1. Thank you for the clarifications, Draco,

            yes, if it's possible, please do share an editable copy of your file with us (support@apps4gs.com). Please also include the tab with the expected result there.

            Note. We keep that Google account for file sharing only, please do not email there. Once you share the file, just confirm by replying here. Thank you.

            1. Hi again. Shared the sheet with editor access for the email provided. =)
              Tab: Test sheet for Natalia

              Thanks!

              1. Hi Natalia, saw the new columns with the formulas. Will look at them and test some scenarios. Thank you so much for the assist!

              2. Hi Draco,

                Please look into the shared file, the solution we've found is already there. It requires 2 extra helper columns (D and E, colored in gray) to avoid a huge formula in one cell. The results are in column F.

              3. Hi Draco,

                Thank you, we've got the file. I've asked our tech specialist to look into it. As soon as there's a reply, I'll let you know right away.

  13. Hi Natalia! Very nice of you helping people in need with your great knowledge, good work!
    I have troubles comparing multiple columns, which should be arranged by their content (witch is composed of numbers, letters and mixed), in the way that columns with similar content should be grouped together. Thanks in advance!

    1. Hi Divna,

      Thank you for your lovely feedback! :)

      For me to be able to help you with your task, please consider sharing an editable copy of a sample spreadsheet with us (support@apps4gs.com). Please make sure it contains 2 sheets: a sample of your source data and the result you expect to get. I kindly ask you to shorten the tables to 10-20 rows.
      Note. We keep that Google account for file sharing only, please do not email there. Once you share the file, just confirm by replying here. Thank you.

      1. Hi again Natalia, thank you for replying and the effort. I sent my data to that email. Thanks again!

        1. Hi Divna,

          Thank you, I've got the file. I can see several columns as your original data, but still, I don't really understand what the task is. Please include the second sheet illustrating how the result of processing all these columns should look like.

  14. You are awesome. I love this one: "Compare two columns in Google Sheets and highlight differences (unique)". But, is there a way to do the same when the values are no unique ?

    What can I do if Column A has a value twice while Column B just once?

    Thanks!!

    1. Hello Jorge,

      Please see 'Example 2. Find and highlight duplicates in two columns in Google Sheets'. It goes right after the one you mentioned.

  15. Scenario 1 - Output sheet contains new records based on Employee ID (Which are uncommon in WHMOutputStatus & Component 1&2)

    Scenario 2 - Output sheet contains records (compare records in Component 1&2 and check whether record having “In Progress” Status. If records contains “In Progress” then dont pick that record from WHMOutputStatus. If record having Actioned status and not having In Progress - pick that record.

    for e.g WHMOutputStatus
    Emp ID Name Status
    1 ABC Actioned
    2 CDE Actioned
    3 EFG Actioned
    4 HIJ Actioned
    5 JKL In Progress
    6 LMN In Progress
    1 ABC Actioned
    2 CDE Actioned
    3 EFG In Progress
    4 HIJ In Progress

    Component 1&2
    Emp ID Name
    1 ABC
    2 CDE
    3 EFG
    4 HIJ
    5 JKL
    10 OOO
    8 YYY
    7 XXX
    Output Sheet must contains below records
    Emp ID Name Status
    1 ABC
    2 CDE
    10 OOO
    8 YYY
    7 XXX

    it would be difficult to manage both scenarios in one sheet. So i break it down into two sheet. I've achieved Scenario 1 using formula - FILTER('Component 1&2'!A:I,IF('Component 1&2'!A:A="",FALSE,(ISNUMBER(MATCH('Component 1&2'!A:A,WHMOutputStatus!A:A,0)))))

    I am looking for scenario 2 solution

    1. hope this summary helps!!

      DT1 (Master DB) DT2 (RAW Data from System) Output Sheet
      Actioned - Not In progress record record available (employee ID exists) include this record from dt2
      In progress record available (employee ID exists) dont include from dt2
      Actioned - Not In progress record No record exists for same employee don’t include (not exists in DT2)
      In progress No record exists for same employee don’t include (not exists in DT2)

      1. Hi @Natalia Sharashova (Ablebits.com Team),

        Any inputs from your end?

        Thanks,
        Sonal

        1. Hi Sonal,

          Our tech specialist took a look at your task. Here's a formula he came up with to compare your two tables and pull those records from 'Component 1&2' that appear in 'WHMOutputStatus' with the status 'Actioned':
          =ARRAY_CONSTRAIN(ARRAYFORMULA(IFERROR(INDEX('Component 1&2'!$B$2:$B$9,SMALL(IF(COUNTIFS(WHMOutputStatus!$B$2:$B$11,'Component 1&2'!$B$2:$B$9,WHMOutputStatus!$C$2:$C$11,"Actioned",WHMOutputStatus!$A$2:$A$11,'Component 1&2'!$A$2:$A$9),ROW('Component 1&2'!$B$2:$B$9)),ROW(1:1))-1),"")), 1, 1)

          Hope this helps.

          1. Thanks Natalia!!

  16. Hi Natalia,
    I have a list of people (first and last names) in one Google Sheet, and a different list in another Google Sheet. Some people will appear in both sheets, but in a different order. How can I check for people with the same first and last names who appear in both Google Sheets and highlight them in both Sheets?

  17. I'm working on some tracking of lists of quotes from famous people. I've already used the countifs and detected the duplicates BUT the issue is that I encountered two quotes that are the same but different usage of punctuations (comma and semicolon) and of course, it will not be detected as "duplicate" because of 1 character. How can I filter this kind of scenario and mark them as duplicate? Thank you in advance!

    1. Hello Rey,

      Since cells should be complete matches to be treated as duplicates, you will need to remove these characters and remaining extra spaces:

  18. I am trying to get a range on Sheet 1 to format based on a range on Sheet 2. Both ranges are full of checkboxes (so not empty). The data validation is identical. I know that I need to use INDIRECT to direct it towards Sheet 2, every time I get a formula that should work, it doesn't. I've gone through the entire checklist of troubleshooting and still cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. I've tried multiple comparative formulae that I've found through searching for help with this. If you can give me the correct formula to conditionally format based on another sheet, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advance.

    1. Hello Gwen,

      I'm sorry it's hard to suggest anything without seeing even the smallest example of your data. Please consider sharing an editable copy of a small sample spreadsheet with us (support@apps4gs.com) with your source data and the result you expect to get. I kindly ask you to shorten the tables to 10-20 rows. We'll look into and try to come up with a solution.

      Note. We keep that Google account for file sharing only, please do not email there. Once you share the file, just confirm by replying here.

  19. Hello,
    I am comparing 2 large lists in separate sheets, one a master copy of all names and the other a list of names I've phoned. I'm trying to highlight the ones that are missing from list 2.
    The issue I have is that column A is last name and column B is first name on each sheet, so I'm needing to compare 2 columns to 2 columns to find discrepancies.
    How do I go about comparing, highlighting and finding who is missing from list 2?
    Thanks a million!

    1. Hello Cyndi,

      One of these points from the article above will help you compare columns:
      Find missing data
      Compare two Google columns or sheets for differences
      Quick way to match columns and highlight records - Compare sheets add-on

      Or feel free to share an editable copy of your example data with us (support@apps4gs.com). Please include the result you expect to get as well and shorten the tables to 10-20 rows.
      Note. That account is for file-sharing only, please do not email there. Once you share the file, just confirm by replying here.

      I'll look into your task and do my best to help.

      1. Fantastic. That advice worked well.
        Is there a way to sort the now "highlighted" rows so that I can create a list showing just the highlighted items?
        Thanks again.

        1. Hello Cyndi,

          I'm happy to let you know that we have implemented our own Sort by Colors to Power Tools. It works in a different from the standard Google Sheets feature way. Please visit this help page for the details.

        2. Cyndi,

          Glad I could help!
          Google Sheets has just recently introduced the feature to filter by color. Just apply the filter to a column of interest and pick Filter by color > Fill Color.

  20. Hi! Thank you for this tutorial! It was very helpful.

    I was wondering if it was possible to write a formula that would compare two cells for matching words regardless of order. For example, trying to compare names in two separate cells, B2 contains the text "Text Name" and cell C2 contains the text "Name Text". I would like to consider this a match and have cell D2 reflect True.

    Thank you in advance for any and all help!

    1. Hi Tommy,

      Thank you for your lovely feedback! :)

      As for your task, please try this formula:
      =JOIN(" ",TRANSPOSE(SORT(TRANSPOSE(SPLIT($B2," ")),1,TRUE,2,TRUE)))=JOIN(" ",TRANSPOSE(SORT(TRANSPOSE(SPLIT($C2," ")),1,TRUE,2,TRUE)))

  21. Hi! Appreciate your help in advance! I need to compare names in Column B in Tab 2, to Column D in Tab 1 and if the name matches, pull cell data (a date) from Column E in Tab 1. Thank you!!

  22. =A2=INDIRECT("Sheet2!C2:C")

    uneven match issue

    1. Hello Akan,

      I've just double-checked and it works on my end. Please make sure you set the exact range to apply the rule to.

  23. Hi
    I have a google sheet of students reading levels that are letters. I would like to find the difference between for example e3-d3 to calculate growth. How do I do this? Thanks!

    1. Hi Andrea,

      For me to be able to suggest you anything, please share a small sample spreadsheet with us (support@4-bits.com) with 2 sheets: your source data and the result you expect to get. I kindly ask you to shorten the tables to 10-20 rows.
      Note. We keep that email for file sharing only and don't monitor its Inbox. Please do not email there. Once you share the file, just confirm by replying here.

  24. Hi,
    I have a team of 14 people. I have to manually enter their name and email addresses in col3 and col4. Is there a way I can enter their name and their email address comes up automatically in the next col?
    Eg: Name Email address
    ABC Abc@gmail.com
    DEF Def@gmail.com
    ABC Abc@gmail.com

    1. Hi Midnite,

      Suppose you enter names to column A on Sheet1, and you need to have emails in column B, same Sheet1.

      To do this, first, list each and every name and its corresponding email on a separate sheet, for example, Sheet2, in columns A and B respectively.
      Then, build a VLOOKUP formula like this in column B, Sheet1:
      =VLOOKUP($A2,Sheet2!$A$2:$B$15,2)

      Once you enter the name from the list to A2, B2 will be automatically filled with the needed email.

  25. Hello
    I need to identify the different attendees year on year. Column A is all the attendees in 2017, column B is all the attendees in 2018. I want a list of persons who came in 2017 and not in 2018 and also who came in 2018 but not in 2017.
    Doing this manually is taking a great deal of time and is not reliably accurate.
    Thanks for your help
    Tony

  26. Hi, is it possible to compare 2 pivot table and calculate the sum of both pivot table?
    Pivot table 1 is tab IN, pivot table 2 is tab OUT. I need to know the sum of person A IN minus the sum of person A in tab OUT. So that I can know the actual sum of person A in certain date.

  27. Hey, thanks for posting. Rly need help here.
    I need a function for:

    If the content of Column B in sheet 1 matches the content of Column B in sheet 2, then answer YES in column E in the same row that column b sheet 1 is in.

    Help!!!

  28. Hi i wanted to know which formula shall I use when the case is: is to find if the Email id in Column B in sheet A is Equal to Email id In Column D Sheet B then Copy the Data of Column C i.e Mobile Number in Sheet A to Column C in Sheet B.

  29. Hi, our company needs to update the prices of its stock monthly as we get price updates from them every month. Is there a way to compare an old list of prices with the updated list and then highlight which ones have changed? At the moment we are having to do it by eye. Thank you.

  30. Hello,

    I have a Google Form people filled out, in total I need about 220 responses.
    People have filled out their e-mail adresses and I want to check if everyone I sent it too actually filled it in.

    If not, I can remind them to fill it out.

    Is there a way I can crossreference the filled out email adresses with my imported list of e-mail adresses I sent the form too?
    For example, I sent the email too hello1@gmail.com and hello2@gmail.com
    I want to filter out which one hasnt filled out the form yet, so I can remind them.

    Not sure if you will read it, but I'll give it a shot.

  31. I am scraping data from the web in two columns and want to find the common values between the two columns (ie duplicates) and put them on the thrid column.
    As I am scraping the data, I do not know how many cells I will have at any given time.
    Any help appreciated!

    1. Hello Nickolas,

      If you want to use formulas, you need to know the exact number of duplicates because formulas won't supply you with additional rows.

      So I'd advise you to try our Compare two sheets or columns tool. It will copy/move duplicate values to any place you select. If the sheet is short on rows, the tool will insert them along with the dupes.

  32. Hey, you seem super knowledgable and this is about as close as I've come to a solution for my problem.

    I'm putting together a data set, which is basically a list of countries in row A, and I want to add data in form of entire columns - typically two columns where one is the list of countries and the other one is the data input. The issue is that some lists don't include all countries, for which I'd like to leave an empty row in that specific column of data.

    Here's how I want it to look:
    https://cdn3.imggmi.com/uploads/2019/10/22/3e9f91f0e882d2296a8f2b3e0cf40c59-full.png

    On the right how it ends up, compared to my full list of countries:
    https://cdn3.imggmi.com/uploads/2019/10/22/37545ca2a98a32471307627200bdeb09-full.png

    I'm very greatful for any help of redirection towards a solution!

    1. Hello Viking,

      If I get it correctly, it looks like our Merge Sheets can help you. It pulls the related data from one table to another and adds missing rows with the rest of the countries.
      In the end, you can simply sort the table by countries A>Z.

      You can test the tool for 30 days for free to see if it suits your needs.

      1. You're absolutely correct, Merge Sheets helped immensely and I appreciate you taking the time to help me out!

  33. Please, i need a formula to remove duplicates from a large data of name and phone number from two different columns. Thanks

  34. Hi! This is very helpful!
    I've used =ISERROR(VLOOKUP(C3,$G:$G,1,0)), and it gives me a FALSE if the C and G columns have the same name, and TRUE if it only exists in C.
    Is there a way to list the True values in a single, tight column, excluding the False?
    My project is a list of clients that need a specific task. If it has been accomplished, then the name is in G and C. G is all clients, C is a subset of those clients with the task completed. So, I'm looking for a list of clients who need the task. Thanks in advance,

    Alex

    1. Hi Alexander,

      I'm sorry but your task is not entirely clear. Please consider sharing a small sample with us (support@4-bits.com) with your source data and the result you expect to get. I kindly ask you to shorten the table to 10-20 rows.
      Since we keep that email for file-sharing only, once you share the file, please confirm by replying here. Thank you.

      In the meantime, you can check our blog post devoted to Google Sheets VLOOKUP function. Perhaps, it'll help.

  35. I am trying to test for conditions in two different columns and count the number of times the condition is true in both columns.
    For instance if the Value is "Closed" in column F and the Value is "M" in column K then count that row.

  36. Hi Natalia, I am hoping you will help me with a way to identify the common row fields from the two columns. They may not be in the same row and I want to identify the common in both columns appearing in anywhere in the two columns. All the fields in the individual columns are unique. Thanks for the opportunity to ask you this question.

  37. I am trying to compare/list duplicates taken from a calendar.
    Columns A and B are where people list their names and holiday dates. These columns got pretty bug quite quickly. To simplify looking for any available dates that you may want off I have created a drop down in J14 where you can select the month and which pulls the calendar for that month into cells J16:P21.
    I have taken dates from the list in column B and highlight the corresponding dates in the calendar in J16:P21.
    But, I want to list the people and the dates which they have booked off underneath the calendar.

    To recap.... compare dates from column B2:B to the calendar J16:P21 and list duplicates and the corresponding name from column A2:A

    1. Hello David,

      For us to be able to help you better, please share a small sample spreadsheet with us (support@4-bits.com) with your source data and the result you expect to get. I kindly ask you to shorten the table to 10-20 rows.
      Since we keep that email for file-sharing only, once you share the file, please confirm by replying here. Thank you.

  38. Hi,

    I have two separate Google Sheets, I need to take information from one sheet to the other. Using INDEX, MATCH how would I pull information over from one sheet to the other? MATCH("X",Sheet #2 URL, 0) doesn't seem to work

    Thanks

  39. Hey Guys!
    I'm having trouble doing this for two lists of names from a party. I have tried so many equations but still having trouble.
    For example, in one column I have the full list of invited guests and then in column B I have all the people who have paid. I am trying to find who hasn't paid for their ticket to the party. Can someone help me out?
    Cheers!

    1. I have two sheets of color names. in sheet one I have all the colors organized under their primary colors. I want to look for colors in column A of Sheet2 inside the table in Sheet1 and return in column B of Sheet2 the title of the column it was found in Sheet1. if there are multiple found then all in one cell separated with comma and no space. thanks

      1. Hello Maae,

        For us to be able to help you, please share a small sample spreadsheet with us (support@apps4gs.com) with 3 sheets: where 1st and 2nd are your sheets with colors and 3d is the result you need to get. I kindly ask you to shorten the tables to 10-20 rows.
        Note. We keep that Google account for file sharing only, please do not email there. Once you share the file, just confirm by replying here.

        We'll look into your task and see if our software can help.

    2. Hey Xavier,

      It looks like you need to find those names in column A that are not in column B. This point of the article offers a short formula to solve this:
      https://www.ablebits.com/office-addins-blog/google-sheets-compare-two-sheets-columns/#find-missing-data

      If you'd rather use colours, please read through this paragraph:
      https://www.ablebits.com/office-addins-blog/google-sheets-compare-two-sheets-columns/#highlight-both-lists

      Make sure your names are written identically and there are no extra spaces or other chars in them.

  40. Hi
    I you have a user database with all names in the SHEET1 A:A but in SHEET2!A:A you only have some of the names, and same with SHEET3A:A and SHEET4!A:A

    What if In SHEET1 you want the B:B collum to refference to what other sheet has the same name.

    So if the First name in The Sheet 1 list is «John B» And «John B» is also the 13th name in the SHEET3. How do I get SHEET!B1 to say SHEET3 when SHEET!A1 says «John B» ?

    If that makes any sence? What would the formula be in B1 (and dragged down for the rest of the sheet)

    1. Hi Christian,

      If I get your task correctly, this formula will help:
      =IF(COUNTIF(Sheet3!$A:$A,A1)>0,"Sheet3","")

      If you'd like to check in all 3 sheets at the same time and return the corresponding sheet name, try this one instead:
      =IF(COUNTIF(Sheet2!$A:$A,A1)>0,"Sheet2",IF(COUNTIF(Sheet3!$A:$A,A1)>0,"Sheet3",IF(COUNTIF(Sheet4!$A:$A,A1)>0,"Sheet4","")))

      Keep in mind that once the formula finds the value in Sheet2, it won't look in other sheets, it will return "Sheet2" right away. If the searched entry is absent from all three sheets, cells with formula will remain blank.

  41. Hi everyone,
    Can somone please help me with which formula to use:
    If Value in Column B is Column B minus Column A equal or greater than 2, then highlight Column B. So for example:

    Column A Column B
    100 103 = 103 is highlighted
    100 101 = 101 is not highlighted

    Thanks to whoever can answer this.

  42. Hi,
    I have to separate Google Spreadsheets. I need to make sure that they are identical. How can I compare the data between two separate spreadsheets?

    Thank you,
    Violet

    1. Hi Violet,

      To reference another spreadsheet, you need to use the IMPORTRANGE function.

      Thus, your formula to compare two Google Sheets for differences may look like this:
      =IF(Sheet1!A1<>IMPORTRANGE("link_to_your_2nd_spreadsheet","Sheet1!A1"),Sheet1!A1&" | "&IMPORTRANGE("link_to_your_2nd_spreadsheet","Sheet1!A1"),"")

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