Comments on: How to use IF function in Excel: examples for text, numbers, dates, blanks

IF is one of the most popular and useful functions in Excel. Generally, you use an IF statement to test a condition and to return one value if the condition is met, and another value if the condition is not met. Continue reading →

Comments page 134. Total comments: 4830

  1. Hi,can you help me with formula if for this condition, if F3=A,D3=1,the result for H3=C3 & if F3=A,D3>1 the result for H3=-1 in 1 formula if. Thank you :)

    1. Hi Pichan,

      Here is the formula for H3 as per your conditions. If nether condition is met, it will return a blank cell (empty string).

      =IF(AND(F3="A", D3=1), C3, IF(AND(F3="A", D3>1), -1, ""))

  2. Hi, im trying to place a formula that, according to a "word" I can get a number as true or false value.
    ex.: A1= Casa .......... B1= If=(A1Casa,"2","5"), something like that.

    Thanks in advanced. :)

    1. Hi Roman,

      I believe you meant =IF(A1="Casa", 2, 5)

      1. Yes,sorry...... but I get a warning that I shoud put an apostrophe, but is possible to make work somehow?

        1. Most likely this is because you have ";" set as a List separator (you can check this in the Regional settings). If this is the case, then try =IF(A1="Casa"; 2; 5)

          1. Sweeeeet, perfect, thanks Svetlana :)

            1. Sorry again, work at prefection, but something else that I want to know if possible, Is possible also to make a Image to show in a cell linked to a word in a formula?, if possible can you direct me to a link of how to do it?, thanks again :)

  3. =(D3/B3)if(B3="0"),D3,E3 I get error please help
    D3=hour B3=Sales E3=final number

    1. Hi Daniel,

      Sorry, I cannot follow you. Can you explain the condition (logical test), please?

  4. Hi Clarence,

    Here you go:
    =IF(AND(E20<J21, E20<D21), MAX(F11:F15), "")

    1. it's not working :'(

  5. hi , can you help with my sheet ? I can't translate it to codes in excel .this is how i read it "if e20 is less than j21 and d21 , i should get the cell with the highest value in f11 to f15 cells . thanks .

  6. HELP! :( Working on a sheet I have made a drop down in a cel and I would like the cel next to it to enter text if a certain word is selected in the drop down, is this possible?!?! I am not very good at explaining so I can try my best with whatever questions you have!

    1. For example, if the drop down menu is selected Oranges I want cel G to now have Bananas in it, but if from the drop down Grapes is selected I want cel G to now say Grapes, and so on and so on, honestly have 27 so far in the drop down and need an IF in G if something is in the drop down menu, is this possible?!?!

      1. Hi Ryan,

        If you want a cell next to your drop down list to display the same value as currently selected in the drop-down, all you need is a simple formula like =$A$1 where A1 is the drop-down cell.

        If you want to display different values, then you should use nested IF functions, like this:

        =IF(A1="bananas", "bananas2", IF(A1="oranges", "oranges2", IF(A1="grapes", "grapes2")))

  7. =IF(AH5>69, AG5*5, IF(AH5>59, AG5*4,IF(AH5>49, AG5*3,IF(AH5>44, AG5*2,IF(AH5>39, AG5*1,IF(AH569) and so on.
    pls, can you help

    1. Hi Fred,

      The formula looks good. You just need to finish it properly, by closing all IF statements. I.e. the number of closing brackets should match the number of opening ones. Also, in the value_if_false argument of the last IF, enter the value to display when none of the conditions are met - it's an empty string ("") in the example below:

      =IF(AH5>69, AG5*5, IF(AH5>59, AG5*4, IF(AH5>49, AG5*3, IF(AH5>44, AG5*2, IF(AH5>39, AG5*1, IF(AH5>29, AG5, ""))))))

  8. Hi! I am trying to use an IF Formula to provide me a date result.

    =IF(H2=S, [Approval]+(7*[Estimated weeks from Start to Approval]),IF(H2=P, [Start]+(7*[Estimated weeks from Start to Approval])))

    I'm not sure what to enter at the end for the result to show a date.

    Thanks!

  9. Thank you Svetlana!!!

  10. Hi Svetlana, It would be great if you could help, I think I'm nearly there but getting frustrated :)

    =IF(AND((E4-AG4>=5),50,0),IF(AND(E4-AG4<=-5),50,0))

    I'm building a sports sheet, whereby E4 is the actual spread and AG4 is the predicted spread. If the predicted spread is within +5 0r -5 then 50 points are awarded.

    Appreciate your help
    Kind regards
    Barry

    1. Hi Barry,

      The correct syntax of your formula is as follows:
      =IF(AND(E4-AG4<=5, E4-AG4>=-5), 50, 0)

      And you can make it even more simpler by using the ABS function that returns an absolute value regardless of the sign:

      =IF(ABS(E4-AG4)<=5, 50, 0)

  11. Hi,

    Thank you in advance for your time. I am trying to creat an IF formula with a logic test that recognizes the most current date in the row and if the date is within 6 days of the todays date another cell will indicate NOT AVAILABLE

    So far I have IF(???>6;AVAILABLE;NOT AVAILABLE)

    I dont know how to create the date formula for the row only for a specific cell.

    Thank you

    1. Hi Stephanie,

      You should use the MAX function to determine the most recent date in a row and then compare it with TODAY(). For me to be able to suggest the right formula, please clarify the conditions. I assume "within 6 days of the todays date" means within the next 6 days, right? And what shall the formula display if the most current date in the row is a past date? And what if it is more than 6 days in the future?

      1. Row A: Will show "Open" if the date entered in any cell in that row is more than 6 days from the current date or show "Closed" if ay date in the row is within 6 days of the current date (future or past).

        So far I have =IF(??-TODAY()>6;"OPEN";"CLOSED")

        Thank you

        1. Hi Stephanie,

          Try this one:

          =IF(ABS(TODAY()-MAX(A2:N2))<6, "open","closed")

          Where A is the first and N is the last column containing dates.

  12. Hi,

    How would I write the formula to get the following:

    If A1 IS BETWEN 1 & 3 then "q1" however if between 4 & 6 then Q2, If between 7 & 9 then q3...

    Thanks!

    Mishaal

    1. Hi Michelle,

      You can use a nested IF formula similar to this, beginning with the largest values:

      =IF(AND(A1>=7, A1<=9), "q3", IF(A1>=4, "q2", IF(A1>=1, "q1", "")))

      If there is no upper-bound limit, it can be simplified it to:

      =IF(A1>=7, "q3", IF(A1>=4, "q2", IF(A1>=1, "q1", "")))

  13. Hi,

    How would I write the formula to get the following:

    If A1 3 but 6 BUT 9 But <=12 "Q4"

    THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOU HELP!!

    Michelle

  14. Hi,
    i shall appreciate if you could please guide me as to how I can use IF function formula while making general journal (Accounts) to auto post entries into respective ledgers(account heads/expense heads) ?
    I look forward for a positive response.

    Thank you,

    Danish Abbasi

    1. Hi Danish,

      Please try to explain the task from another viewpoint. In what columns do you have data, and where do you want to auto post data and based on exactly what conditions?

  15. Hi,

    I have a drop down selection in Column M with the choices: "China - UK", "China - EU", "China - ME"

    In column P I have a formula: =INDEX(Products!M:M,MATCH(C5,Products!$B:$B,0)) to automatically populate the duty rate for bringing into UK/EU - this is a variable percentage depending on the product.

    If in the drop down "China - ME" is selected I want to override column P with conditional formatting to show 5% which is constant for all products

    I tried to put the two formulas in priority order on conditional formatting

    =IF(M5="China - ME", "5%", "0") - selected stop if true
    =INDEX(Products!M:M,MATCH(C5,Products!$B:$B,0))

    Can you please tell me where I am going wrong?

    Kind regards,

    Alex

  16. Hi Svetlana,

    Could you please help me with my question below?
    I'm collecting in 1 sheet customers feedbacks from 7 different languages (sheets).
    So in the same colomn A, I have the answers "Yes, Oui, Ja, Si, No, Non, Nein...." or "Non, No, Nain...".
    The formula works fine for 1 language "=IF(A2="SI",1,0)" but do not know how to add the others..I would need number 1 to appear if it's an answers "Yes, Ja, Si, oui.. and a 0 if it's a "Non, No, Nain...".
    Any idea how can I compile all of this in one formula please?
    That would be much appreciated if you could help with this.

    Thanks a lot,

    Erin

    1. Hi Erin,

      You can add multiple OR conditions in your logical test, like this:

      =IF(OR(A2="SI", A2="Yes", A2="Ja"), 1, 0)"

      1. Hi, what if the cells are multi-word strings and I want to have anything that contains, (e.g.) 'blue', 'green' or 'purple' return 'cool' and everything else 'warm'.
        For example:
        light blue (cool)
        burnt orange (warm)
        forest green (cool)
        etc.
        thanks

  17. Hi,

    i need the if condition formula for the below i need to allocate some of the qty so if total qty is less 5000 need allow 25 Pcs like details are below

    Qty Allow Qty

    12500 400

  18. I have values in cells E6,H6,K6,N6,Q6 & T6 that I want added together. The values in these cells are from vlookups from other sheets in the workbook. Any of those 6 values (E6,H6,K6,N6,Q6 &T6) could contain a blank or have returned nothing as a result of the vlookup. I need to total these numbers but if I put a simple addition formula in I get an error because of the possible blanks. I am thinking it needs to be a complex nested if sentence but can't figure out how to tell it that I need it to add all the numbers and discount those that are blanks or empty cells.

  19. = IF(A10,A1, IF(A20,A2,IF(A30,A3,"BAD")))

    BAD is mean all 3 cells are blank

    1. Hi!

      Sorry, I am not sure I can follow you. Can you explain the conditions (logical tests), please?

  20. first of all ,thanks in advance for the people whom create these very nice tutorials.I wanted to do math operation on the results of nested IFs.how could it possible with one formula??? my formula is as this:
    =IF(HOUR(D26)> 0; HOUR(D26)*45357; IF(MINUTE(D26)> 0; MINUTE(D26)*755.95; IF(SECOND(D26)> 0; SECOND(D26)*12.6; 0)))
    ---------I wana add a statement to above formula in order to sum the true values , it calculate the first but ignores others!!!! I wanna sum hour+minute+second

  21. Hi Svetlana,

    I tried your formula here below to replace a text into a number and it works fine.
    But I do not actually know how to make it work for different datas on the same colomn.
    Let me quickly explain.
    I'm collecting in 1 sheet customers feedbacks from 7 different languages (sheets).
    So in the same colomn A, I have "Yes, Oui, Ja, Si, No, Non, Nein...." answers.
    The formula works fine for 1 language "=IF(A2="SI",1,0)" but do not know how to add the others..I would need number 1 to appear if it's an answers "Yes, Ja, Si, oui.. and a 0 if it's a "Non, No, Nain...".
    Any idea how can I compile all of this in one formula please?
    That would be much appreciated if you could help with this.

    Thanks a lot,

    Erin

  22. if i5 is less then D5 value is zero and if D5 is greater then I5 value is D5 is show

    1. =IF(I5<D5, 0, D5)

      The formula will return 0 if I5<D5, and the value in D5 if I5>=D5. If you are looking for something different, please clarify.

  23. I am doing an excel on monthly growth of values based on employees. Issue is some people start during the month and some quit. So I have some people with no value at the beginning of the month and other with no value at the end. I do not want those to show up as values.

    A B C D
    1 1/1/15 2/1/15 Growth Percentage
    2 225,749 248,324 200,471 88.8%
    3 420,284 420,284 0%
    4 48,744 -48,744 0%

    For D2, I did =IF(OR(A2="",B2=""),,(B2-A2)/ABS(A2)) which gives me the percentage of growth through the month and returns 0% if either is blank. Can I make column D actually be blank instead of showing 0%? Or, I want to show a total average growth at the bottom of column D without being penalized for all the 0%. If D5 was going to be the "average" cell, could I do =AVERAGE(D2:D4) but somehow tell it to not include the cells which have a value of 0%? Some people have a negative percentage and I need to include those.

    1. Well that table got all messed up after submitting it. Column A is 1/1/15's value, column B is 2/1/15's value, column C is the growth from 1/1 to 2/1 and column D is the percentage that they grew (or dropped) over the month.

      1. Hi Doug,

        I would add "" to value_if_true to return an empty string if either A2 or B2 is blank.

        =IF(OR(A2="",B2=""),"",(B2-A2)/ABS(A2))

  24. I need help with a if statement formulae

    The formula is:

    =IF(H18='Booking Date Log'!$J$13:$J$1048576, "Not Available", "Available")

    H18 contains a date e.g. 9/9/2015

    $J13:$J$1048576 contains a range of dates e.g. 9/9/2015 9/10/2015 ....

    True Value = "Not Available"

    False Value = "Available"

    what i need is that if H18 = any of these cells ($J13:$J$1048576) for it to come as "Not Available"

    and if H18 doesnt = any of these cells ($J13:$J$1048576) for it to come as "Available"

    Can this be done?

    thanks

    Fraz

  25. I want to write a formula where if the value in a particular cell is less then 18 I want the cell to indicate the cost is $48 but if the value is greater than 18 then I want the value to be $48 plus the value greater than 18 (or the value +30)

    if A10 < 18 then = $48.00 but if A10 < 18 then = (A10 + 30)

    Can this be done?

    1. Figured it out, thanks =IF(E225>19,E225+30,"$48.00")

  26. I want to test the value of a portion of a cell. For example: The cell says Approved: 12345 where 12345 is a changing order number, the list has Declined and Refunded transactions as well. Is there a way to test only for the word Approved without consideration of the remaining data within the field?

    1. Hello Krystalya,

      You have to use ISNUMBER and SEARCH function for partial match, like this:

      =IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("approved",A2)), "yes", "no")

      Where A2 says "says Approved: 12345".

      Please check out "Example 3. IF formula for text values with partial match" in this tutorial for full details.

  27. Hello,
    I have a workbook with multiple sheets. In column A, of sheet 1, is a list of names. I have been able to get those names to populate on sheet 2 and three using ;
    =IF(INDIRECT("Sheet1!A" & ROWS($1:1))="","",INDIRECT("Sheet1!A" & ROWS($1:1)))
    This works well to a point. What I would like to happen is when a name is deleted from column A, sheet 1, I would like the data in sheets 2 and three in the corresponding row to be deleted as well. i.e. if row 17 (A-L) on sheet 1 is deleted, then row 17 A-L) on sheets 2 and 3 will be deleted.
    Thanks

    1. There was a simple fix. Just group the sheets together. Adjust as nessasary. And then un group.

  28. Hi Guys,

    I am new to VBA. I need a VBA macro code that will convert HTML data into Text in my microsoft 2007 excel.

    one column A contain n number of rows data with HTML data I want to run a macro so it can be convert to Text data in just near by column that is B.

  29. Hi Svelana,
    How are you today. I appreciate the time you're taking to help me with my problem. I'm sure all these individual questions can be burdensome. My question is:

    I have the first 80 cells numbered 1-80 in sequence. I have this in every row as well, and then after that I have 20 columns each with a number 1-80. I wanna highlight one of the 1st 1-80 if one of the 20 cells has a number that matches it. Is this possible?

    Thank you,

    1. Hi Eddie,

      Sorry, I am not sure I fully understand your data structure. If you could post your sample workbook on our forum, our support team will do their best to help.

  30. Hi, I wanted to know how can I get numerical value for 18 and below and 46 and above
    thanks

  31. Hi,

    If you are give amount that between 6 to 10 is equal to 0.5 however I have to formulate it in such a way that below 6 it is to be number divided by 24 and above 10 it must be number divided by 24.

    If(A3>0=6=10,Number/24,"")))

    please how do I go about.

  32. I need a formula for:
    If A1=1, then B1:B4=1, otherwise B1:B4=0. If A5=1, then B5:B8=1, otherwise B5:B8=0.
    I can also do:
    If A1=1, then A2:A4=1, otherwise A2:A4=0. If A5=1, then A6:A8=1, otherwise A6:A8=0.

    When I try to copy this formula down to record 10,000 I am getting a loop error. Excel is returning:
    A1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    How can I fix this??

    1. Hi Brianna,

      Try entering the following formula in cells B1 through B4, and A2 through A4:

      =IF($A$1=1, 1, 0)

      And this one in cells B5 through B8, and A6 through A8:
      =IF($A$5=1, 1, 0)

  33. I've got two columns of numbers to compare and see if the difference is + or - 5. How would I make a formula to do that?

  34. i want a formula in excel that will return a value with it superscript Eg 1st

  35. Hi I want to use this formula with =If condition
    =RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-FIND(" ",A2,12))
    i tried many time but it not fits in.
    =if(A2<len(9),"Write your full name,RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-FIND(" ",A2,12)))
    why this is not working????
    Please guide me

    1. Hi Nadeem,

      Sorry, I cannot understand what your RIGHT formula does. Can you explain in words?

      Anyway, the IF function may look similar to this:

      =IF(LEN(A2)<9,"Write your full name", RIGHT())

      It returns "Write your full name" when A2 contains less than 9 characters. Otherwise, what is it supposed to return?

  36. I am trying to run an IF formula this is what I was trying to do =IF(A1>0,[A1=B1],[A1=0])
    Basically if cell A1 is greater than zero I want the cell to be replaced with the data from cell B1, however if cell A1 is not greater than zero I want the cell to equal zero.
    Can someone please help?!!!

    1. Hi Mel,

      You don't want square brackets in IF formulas:

      =IF(A1>0, B1, 0)

  37. Hi, i am wondering if it can be done when i sale an item and lets say inventory is 20 so i sold one and inventory changes to 19 i want a column to go plus every minus i do in the inventory.

  38. Hello Rupesh,

    You need a nested IF formula like this:

    =IF(A2>90, 4, IF(A2>=80, 3, IF(A2>=70,2,1)))

    1. Hi. I’m trying to figure out how to do two different calculations in a cell. Using the IF function.

      It involves 3 different cells
      If cell C3 has a number greater than 0, I multiply C3 by C1 plus the total in cell B2 to get a running total in the second row . Easy enough. My problem comes when I want to put in a 0 in C3 and then the cell has to multiply the running total by .5 (cutting the total in half).
      I’m not sure how to put both in one cell. I would appreciate any help.

      Thank you.

      P.S. this is to keep score in a dart game called Shanghai ?

  39. ( >90 then 4, 80-90 then 3, 70-80 then 2 and <70 then 1

    i tried to put a formula on this but its not working.
    can you please suggest

  40. i need help, i have data which i need to analyse, in a cell i have entered data for males and females with the figures of household size, e.g male 2 and female 3, so i need a formula to find the total of males and females separately.

  41. I need to use IF function on below case;

    If one item is available from a column, then Yes or else No. Please advise the fuction.

    1. Hi Jay,

      Here is an example:

      =IF(A1="item you want", "yes", "no")

  42. hi,

    In my data all the values are in Indian currency in rupees. While I create pivot table summary, all the values comes with in rupees. But I needs those figure should come in Lacs.

    Thanks in advance.

  43. HI,

    I WANT TO CREATE IN EXCEL 2007 Which shows that in a selected cell (specifically Column K in spreadsheet in each cell downwards)if I will type a Value on it(numbers. 1-9) it will correspond to a word. say for example 1 means okay, 2 means not yet and etc. some sort of shortcut techniques in typing for that word. what kind of Formula should I use? Please let me know.

    Thanks Svetlana!

    1. Hi JAS,

      You can use nested IF functions, like this:

      =IF(A1=1, "ok", IF(A1=2, "not yet", IF(A1=3, "smth else", "")))

      Excel 2007 allows adding up to 64 nested IF in one formula.

      1. Great, thanks a lot!

  44. I created a quiz and used data validation. I want to get 1 mark for the answer of 42 otherwise 0. I used if(A4="42", 1,0).it give me 0. am I using wrong syntax

    1. Hi Istkar,

      You don't need to enclose numbers in double quotes unless you want them to be treated as text strings. Once you remove "", your formula will work great:
      =IF(A4=42,1,0)

  45. can you help with the below:
    i am creating a sheet for associates in my company. 1 tab has all details of the associate that a company database should have. column 'F' has the designation of the associate and column "A" has names
    what i want to do (in another tab in the same excel). wherever column "F" has designation as manager the cell in the new tab should show me the name of that associate.
    eg: if cell value f4=manager then value in new cell (in new tab) should be name as in A4.

    i want the same to be applied to every cell.

    1. Hi Ankit,

      Hopefully, this is what you are looking for:
      =IF(F4="manager", A4, "")

  46. How many times i can add IF in one formula.

    1. In Excel 2013, Excel 2010 and Excel 2010, you can add up to 64 nested IF functions. In older versions of Excel, you can use a maximum of 7 IFs in one formula.

  47. Hi, Svetlana!
    I'm trying to make an Excel 2013 formula that will extract a person's last name from a cell that has their full name. Unfortunately, the fullname cell can contain any of these formats:
    First Last
    First M. Last
    F. Middle Last
    F. Middle Second_middle Last Jr.

    The formula to extract the last name form a "First Last" cell is easy (where A5 is the fullname cell):
    =RIGHT(A5,LEN(A5)-FIND(" ",A5))
    ...but I need to be able to find the last instance of a space character to lead off the RIGHT() function location. That would work for the first three examples, but not the last. Not sure what to do about that one, unless maybe an exclusion list of common suffix titles?

    I'd be most interested in your help.
    Cheers!
    Ted

  48. I have created a spreadsheet for working out the pay of our employees. The data starts in Row 14. Col A contains that week's pay date eg. 24/3/15 etc. Col B has the total hours the employee has worked that week. Column C then multiplies the hours from Col B by the employees pay rate to give me their gross pay for that week. Cols D-F contain various deductions relevant to that employee & Col G lists net pay. Following that there are 4 more rows containing the above info with the hours listed as 0 unless it is used for that week's pay, and the sixth row adds up the totals for that month & displays them as *??.??.

    In cell b3 I want a formula that tells me how many hours the employee worked in the last 4 weeks e.g..it will look down column B, find the last hours entry (ie. the last number that is greater than 0 & does not have an *), then add to this number the previous 3 weeks hours (ie. the previous 3 numbers greater than 0 & without an *). If it makes it easier I am happy to enter in the cell reference that contains the last hours entry (rather than Excel working that out) as I am not going to need this information on a regular basis.

    In cell b4 I want to do do the same thing as b3 except i want to know how many hours the employee worked in the last 52 weeks (or if they haven't actually worked 52 weeks yet, their total hours so far).

    I'm sure that this is not actually a difficult formula to write but excel is not my forte! Please let me know if you need further clarification.

  49. Thanks a lot Svetlana that worked as expected :)

    Cheers

  50. I've two columns A & B, out of this i want to check against A column name if B column is not blank then it should show complete else Partial, for more understanding see below example

    C-A C-B Output
    A ABC12 Complete
    A 105 Complete
    A 13 Complete
    B 213 Partial
    B ABC12 Partial
    B Partial

    1. Hi Rajendra,

      I am afraid our blog engine has made a mess of your data :( I understand about B column being non-blank. But exactly what shall we check against A column?

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 :)