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 3. Total comments: 4813

  1. I have 5 sell prices for each item in excel and I need to write an IF statement to see if they all match. Can you help?

  2. Hi, I need to write an IF statement for a column in which I already have some values which need to remain unchanged if the corresponding cell in the C column reads 'TRUE'. However, if the coresponding cell in the C column reads 'FALSE', then the cell must return 'NULL'. e.g C2 contains 'FALSE', therefore D2 will write 'NULL'. However, C4 contains 'TRUE', therefore the existing number in D4 '0.29' should remain unchanged. I can't find any logic which allows me to do this? The examples given use "" which returns a blank cell.

    1. Hi! An Excel formula can only return a value to the cell in which it is written, and it cannot return a value to another cell. A previously written value in a cell cannot be changed by an Excel formula. This can be done with VBA. For example, you can use a formula in the E column to either set the value to NULL or to get the value from the C column. For example:

      =IF(C2=FALSE,"NULL",D2)

  3. Thank you Alexander for this wonderful tutorial
    Your help is needed;

    From this excel function, IF(W54<20,0,IF(W54<31,2,IF(W54<51,4,IF(W54<76,6,IF(W54<100,7,IF(W54=100,8,0))))))
    I need your help with inserting a multiplicator into the IF function above to return values for 370, 400, 650, 275 and 914
    Is it possible to insert a multiplier to auto calculate up to a 1000 from the base IF function at the top?
    Thank you

    1. Hi! If I understand your question correctly: Instead of cell W54, you can use the cell range W54:W58 in the formula, where these five numbers will be written. The result will be an array of values.

  4. Hi, I am looking for a formula to add the following “rules” to a work sheet. If D count 50 if FW count 100, so in other words I want to add the value of 50 to D and the value of the 100 to FW. Can anyone help?

    1. Hi! How to perform calculations by conditions is described in detail in the article above. According to your explanations it is impossible to recommend you a formula, because it is not clear what D and FW are.

  5. i am Looking for a formula pls

    If C1 contain the text "Clarke", the value in C2 must be auto copied to C3. Is this possible?

    1. =IF(C1="Clarke",C3=C2,"") something like that. the end " " is a place holder, it depends on what you want to do if C1 doesnt = clarke

      1. Read carefully how to use the IF function. Your formula is not correct. Just write formula IF(C1="Clarke",C2,"") in cell C3.

    2. Hi! I recommend you to read carefully the instructions on how the IF function works with text. It can be found in the article above.
      IF(C1="Clarke",C2,"")

  6. How can I protect a formula in a field with a drop-down list aswell. Basically by IF/AND formula answers the value of "Not applicable" if the two preceding columns are both answered as "No", but if either of the two preceding columns have a "Yes", then I need people to be able to pick an option from the drop-down list, whichever is appropriate, but when you do, it wipes out the IF formula, so if the person entering data realise that maybe this miss-entered the values on the two preceding columns and it is actually both meant to be "No", then I want the IF formula to kick in and answer "Not applicable", but it won't because once you've selected something for the drop-down list, the formula is lost. not sure if I'm asking for too much, but thought I'd give it a go, maybe you have an easy solution.
    Thanks,

    1. Hello! A drop-down list writes a text value into a cell. When it does this, it clears all the previous contents of the cell. Using VBA, you can try to create a dropdown list if certain conditions are met. In this case, if the conditions are not met, the drop-down list does not exist.

  7. Need assistance trying to reconcile two source documents using 3 common conditions to match them. what's the best formula i can use?

  8. Hi, I hope you can help, in need of the following. A1 Date of Hire
    A2 Date of Term
    A3 calculate 12 months from A1 but if A2 has a date A3 would remain blank. (Using date driven for FMLA eligibility)
    A4 to show 480 hrs if A3 is 12 months from A1 as of todays date

    I hope I’ve explained it properly.

    1. Hi! I hope you have studied the recommendations in the tutorial above. It contains answers to your questions.
      To add 12 months to a date, use these instructions: Add months to date in Excel. For example:

      =IF(ISBLANK(A2),DATE(YEAR(A1), MONTH(A1) + 12, DAY(A1)),"")

      1. Thank you, I truly appreciate your help and knowledge.
        I should have mentioned that I am using seveal worksheets with vlookup to bring or have data follow.
        The DOH and TERM are vlookup, here is my formula that those cells have:
        =IF(ISERROR(VLOOKUP(A11,'Sheet1'!$A$3:$AI$335,9,FALSE)),"",IF(LEN(VLOOKUP(A11,'Sheet1'!$A$3:$AI$335,9,FALSE))=0,"",VLOOKUP(A11,'Sheet1'!$A$3:$AI$335,9,0)))

        The recommendation doesn't work with ISBLANK when there is a formula? Unless I'm missing it?

        2. Oh, I'm sure I'm making this more complicated than I should :)

          1. Took your advice and re-read the tutorial..
            My answer: =IF($G22"", "Term", EDATE(F22,12))

            THANK YOU!!!

  9. Hi, I have the criteria for a negative samples as <0.3. <0.3 is what is written in the cell. I want to say that if I70 is less than 0.3 then mark it as positive and if not mark it as false. Now I know that I could do IF(I70<0.3, "True", "False") but the difficulty is that I have a table whereby negative is 0.3 but this is all being extracted from a much larger table. This is all for an automated sheet to process a huge amount of data so I don't want to have to change the formula for each sample if you can follow. How can I write the equation so it responds to '<0.3' that is in the cell?

  10. I need to automate the cells using IF function
    For example : I have client and environment and DB instance details in separate excel, so based on client and environment it should tell us what should be the (it should automatically pick) DB instance name in excel
    Client : ball
    Environment : dev
    DB instance name : ?

  11. If My Value falls

    Up to $10000 apply 2.5%
    $10000 - $25000 apply 2.25%
    $25001 - $50000 apply 2%
    $50001 - $100000 apply 1.75%
    $100001 - $200000 apply 1.25%
    $200001 - $500000 apply 1%
    Greter than $500000 apply .75%

    How to write excel query?

  12. im trying to do a table for auditing a cash box, how do i make something that says IF the amount is less than given amount show "short" if its over, show "drop" and show me the amount its over

  13. Hi there,
    So I have the column for overtime hours rendered by our staff, next to it is the column remarks if the rendered overtime is saturday, holiday, and regular day. Then I have for column ROT, Holiday, and rest day. To avoid manually encode the OT hours if it's under ROT, Holiday and rest day, I need a formula for that. for example, if the overtime hours is with remarks of saturday, the figure will be in the column of rest day, if regular day under ROT and if holiday under holiday.
    thanks for the help

  14. HI ,
    I want to calculate Gratuity for the employees in the company and i have the difference between the joining date and the last day working day as a value to check it and implement into 4 Columns (options) , first column if the (value >=365 and less than 1095) , second column if the value >= 1095 and less than 1825 , third column if value >=1825 then till 1825 will be calculated in third column and more than 1825 will be calculated in fourth column , the major idea from the two comparisons for each to avoid the duplicate of the values in the other columns if we consider value 1850 >=365 for example will be calculated in all 4 columns .

    Thanks in advance .

      1. Thanks for your assistance . it was very helpful .

  15. I want to calculate a value for example:
    A1 has 100 and B1 and C1 can have 0 or any positive number
    Next A2 should be A1 minus (B1+C1) how to use if and else formula for this

    1. Hi! There is no "else formula" in Excel. It is not clear from your question why IF should be used here. Try A1-(B1+C1). Or describe the problem in more detail.

  16. Is there a way to write a formula that would state - If this number (in cell A2) is 25% less than another number (say in cell D2), give me a yes? Conversely, If A2 is 25% greater than D2, say yes.

  17. how do I make a formula that is like the match formula but instead of it saying match and don't match it would be a certain color like if it doesn't match then it would stay white but if it did match then it would be red

  18. I am comparing if 2 cells (text) match, if they match, then I copy the value from another cell that is a text, if not, just write "Input information".
    This is the formula that I am writing:
    =(EXACT(A2,B2),D2,"Input information")

    When I press enter it shows me the equation instead of the options.
    When I go to "Evaluate Formula" in the Formula menu, the message says: The cell currently being evaluated contains a constant.
    Columns A, B are formatted as General and column D as Text.

  19. Hi there, New to learn formula's on my own and looking for some help.
    Basically.... Im looking for a formula for the below....
    Table of data have been created B54:D78 - 3 columns, 25 rows.
    My selected cell is I8

    If Column I7 says ICU (B73), enter data from C73 in selected cell

    Hoped this make sense. Ive been trying for hrs ... Im missing something - just font know what ....

    Thank you in advance

    1. Its all good - I worked it out... I have copied below in case anyone was wondering...

      =IF(ISNUMBER(MATCH(H6,B$54:B$78,0)),INDEX(C$54:C$78,MATCH(H6,B$54:B$78,0)),"")

      Thanks for this page... have learnt so much already .. :)

  20. Hello People,
    Please help me with the below query

    Suppose I have 4 Remarks column have different remarks

    Col D - RNR
    Col G - Interested
    Col V - Payment not processed
    Col W - Onboarded

    How do i get the latest remarks in Col Z - I.e. Onboarded.

    2. If Cell L2, Cell R2, Cell W2, Cell AB2 & Cell AG2 has a remarks, the latest remark should show in Column AM

      1. If Cell L2 = RNR
        Cell R2= Call Back
        Cell W2=Disconnected
        Cell AB2=Network Issue
        Cell AG2=Interested

        the latest remark should show in Cell AM as Interested

        Example 2
        If Cell L2 = RNR
        Cell R2= Call Back
        Cell W2=Disconnected
        Cell AB2=Blank Cell
        Cell AG2=Blank Cell
        the latest remark should show in Cell AM as Disconnected

  21. I'm trying to do a if function but use a formula. Is this possible or is it another function i should be using?
    =IF(H12="RO","0","=SUM(I12-H12-I13)")

    1. Hi! I don't know what you wanted to calculate. Read the article above carefully, as well as the instructions for the SUM function. Here is one possible variant of your formula:
      =IF(H12="RO",0,I12-H12-I13)

  22. Hi, I have different city names and I want to group it in different state by using IF function - pls support
    For Example, if one cell has the city name as "X" / "Y" / "Z" should be named as "Apple", If "A" / "B" / "C" as "Orange", so on - how to do it

  23. HI,
    i am trying to using IF command for following application but unable to success,

    =IF(H100=100A-3P,"100")

    will you please suggest is this formula is Ok or need correction

    Best Regards
    Mehmood Saleem

  24. I currently have this formula:

    =IF(B1601<0,"Currently Overspending by $"&IF(B1601<0,ROUND(SUM(B1601*-1),2),ROUND(B1601,2)) &"!","Can Contribute $"&ROUND(B1601,2) &" to Savings.")

    I was wondering if and how a different text format can be passed for the Value? For example I would like the "true" value to be red and bold and the "False" value to be blue and bold.

  25. Greetings. I am a 4th-grade teacher working on a data tracking spreadsheet and cannot figure out how to get the data I desire from two columns into the third column.

    Column C will have a student's test score (either a 1, 2, 3, or 4). Column D will have the student's retake test score (either a 1, 2, 3, 4, or it will be left blank because he or she did not need to take the retake). Currently, I am using the formula below to show the score change for a student's test in Column E:

    =IF(C5"",C5-D5,"")*(-1)

    I am looking to see data in the following manner:
    1) If there is data in Column C and in Column D, I want to show the data change in Column E
    - if the score goes up from a 1 to a 3, Column E would show a 2 (and of course any variation of a score increase would be represented)
    - if the score goes down from a 4 to a 3, Column E would show a -1 (and of course any variation of a score decrease would be represented)
    2) If there is data in Column C but not in Column D, I do not want data to show in Column E
    - if a student's data in Column C is 3 and there is no data in Column D (they did not take the retake test), I do not want anything to show in Column E

    I cannot wrap my head around how to get this done and have had great success with assistance on this Blog. For someone that understands the ins and outs of functions, my guess is this will not be too difficult, but for me, I am stumped. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

    Trigg

  26. How i can i calculate time used for to supply order ?
    For example:
    Distributor delivery order between 07am and 4PM (Agreed time), and he received order 11h10am on November 28 and deliver order on 14pm on November 29 2023,

  27. its a great tutorial but unfortunately I have problem and I couldn't fix it yet. I want to convert cells(in a column) to another thing(first column is 1" , 2" , 3" and etc. and second column should be 1 mm , 2 mm , 3 mm) but i have a problem, since the first column has double quotation the excel fails to proceed.
    P.S: I use this formula like this : IF(A1="1""), "1 mm", "")

  28. I have to create a rating system in excel. For example, if 2 or more ratings are listed as "marginal", then the final rating is marginal. If there is one marginal, but the other ratings are satisfactory then the rating is satisfactory. How do I make that into an excel formula?

  29. Hi I have to create a formula with multiple AND OR.
    Example: =IF(OR(D2="MXP", J2="RASO"), "190 €", IF(AND(D2="TRN", J2="RASO"), "160 €", "")) but it doesn't work.
    Any idea of how I can make it work?

    Thanks

    1. Hi! I can't check your formula because I don't have your data. I can't guess what result you wanted to get.

  30. Hi,
    I have a 25 rows (e.g., F2:AD2). Some of the cells in these rows contain a specific text, while the rest are empty. I need a formula which can extract the cell number of the rows that contain the specific text.
    for example, if N2 and Z2 has the specific text, i want the formula to return "N2, Z2". I used IFS and it only returns the first true value and omits the rest.
    How do i get it done?

    Many thanks.

  31. hi i dont know what formula will i use
    "55+0= 0 or blank"
    if the value in column b is 55 and column c is 0 i would like to see it blank in column d or show it as 0 value but if i input value in column c operations should be done on column d (55*1=55) hope you get my point

    1. Hi! I hope you have studied the recommendations in the tutorial above. For example,

      =IF(AND(B1=55,C1=0),0,B1*C1)
      or
      =B1*C1

  32. Hello!in sheet1 from column A - K are all occupied,in column G there are mixture up trucks registrations numbers of 3 different countries,i need to maintain that column but link every country registration number to go to different sheet depending on first letter of the registration

  33. Greetings, I am trying to complete a trip sheet / logbook. In column "I" there is an address, in column "H" it should be the name of the business visited. I am not sure if possible to nest 138(unique paired) IF or IFS based on text. The address is text and it should return a text. Also the must be a "else" for any unknown address. If there is a limit on nesting how many can be nested?
    The entire worksheet is over 2000 lines so to copy a formula would make things easy.

    Thank you so very much for any help.

      1. Greetings
        My formula has a syntax problem.
        =VLOOKUP(G14, lookup!$A$1:$B$127)
        =VLOOKUP(G14, lookup!$A$1:$B$127, 2 0)
        =VLOOKUP(G14, $lookup.A1:B127)

        Column G contains the address.
        I have tried this in column F and H and neither is working.
        The main sheet is where I am trying to the formula.
        lookup is a sheet on the same workbook as the main.
        Column A contains address
        Column B contains a name that matches A

        Thank you.

  34. Hi just trying to get a formula for:
    if a sheet of data with names and numbers. a specific name "Steve" and to locate his name in a seperate sheet and add up his expenses for the month of january please,

    its probably simple im just confusing myself

  35. I'm using a formula "=TEXTJOIN("",TRUE,IFERROR((MID(C39,ROW(INDIRECT("1:"&LEN(C39))),1)*1),""))" to copy numeric contents of a cell to another cell, now I would like to modify it to the same but only if it is 9 digits or more if it is less than 9 digits to copy the complete cell

    1. Hi! If I understand correctly, use the LEN function to find the length of the text string that TEXTJOIN returns.

      =IF(LEN(TEXTJOIN("",TRUE,IFERROR((MID(C39,ROW(INDIRECT("1:"&LEN(C39))),1)*1),"")))>9, C39, TEXTJOIN("",TRUE,IFERROR((MID(C39,ROW(INDIRECT("1:"&LEN(C39))),1)*1),"")))

  36. Please help to create an If statement formula identifying the Peak (P) and Off peak (OP) in the time of a day with the following conditions:
    Peak (P) - from 0801H - 2100H Mon-Sat and 1801H-2100H during Sundays and holidays
    Off Peak (OP) - from 2101H-0800H Mon-Sat and 2101H-1800H during Sundays and holidays
    Tried so many formulas but returns a #value. 26/12/2022 12:05:00 am is the date-time format reference that Iam using.
    Thank you.

    1. Hi! To get the day of the week, use the WEEKDAY function. Since time in Excel is the fractional part of the date, get this fractional part by subtracting the integer part from the date using the INT function.

      =IF(OR(AND(WEEKDAY(D1,2)<7, (D1-INT(D1))>TIME(8,0,0), (D1-INT(D1))<TIME(21,0,0)), AND(WEEKDAY(D1,2)=7, (D1-INT(D1))>TIME(18,0,0), (D1-INT(D1))<TIME(21,0,0))),"P","OP")

  37. helloo Dear Alexander

    I need a function a liittle unusual. just wanted to ask you to help me.
    Let Jump to an example:
    =IF(Condition = TRue, condition1, get data from user)

    in other word If condition is True do an affair an calculation, but if is not true, get as data entry.

    would you please to help me if there is a way to do this?

    Thanks alot.

    1. Hi! What does the “get data from user” phrase mean? If you want to get data using an external reference, specify it in the IF formula. If you want to get data for multiple cells or a table, use VBA.

  38. Hello!in sheet1 from column A - K are all occupied,in column G there are mixture up trucks registrations numbers of 3 different countries,i need to maintain that column but link every country registration number to go to different sheet depending on first letter of the registration

  39. Hi,
    Can i use if formula "Monthly data same date if there is same name is enter double then it should be highlighted "i dont want to filter and check each date if the name is double entry or not

      1. My concern is I have a data with many names and different date's

        A with name and B with date

        Cell "A " if the name is entered 2 times on the same date .
        example: name John - 1st oct 2022 is OK ,should not be there again in the same date .

        i need a formula to confirm there is no double entry on the same date

  40. Can I return a number and a text value? I am trying to get the value in the cell with the IF statement to display the numerical difference between two cells and also say Under or Over. For context, I want it to subtract an estimated budget with an actual budget and then return the value saying how much the difference is and if it is over or under budget in the same cell. Is this possible?

  41. Hi
    How to write this formula:
    If cell B4 is >1 or =15 then B5=1
    If cell B4 is <15 but < 30 then B5=2
    If cell B4 is 305 but < 45 then B5=3

    Ihave been trying to use IF(AND/ OR but I am not getting it write.

  42. Mohonbantuan untukrumusnya
    jika A1 saya isi P maka A2 isinya 100.000, jika A1 disi T maka A2 isinya 200.000, jika A1 di isi K maka A2 300.000

    mohon bantuannya, trus cara aturnya gimana.
    terimasaik,

    1. I want the numbers to showi the first column automatically, as i enter the names or items in the next column. How can i do that? I remember something like: =if(b2=???, row-1, ""), but cannot remember the exact formula.
      Thanks in advance

      1. Hi! I don't know what numbers you want to display. You can get the row number by using the ROW function. Check for an empty cell using the ISBLANK function or the <>"" expression. For example:

        =IF(NOT(ISBLANK(B2)),ROW(B2),"")
        =IF(B2<>"",ROW(B2),"")

  43. Hi!
    I have tax rate ranging from 5% - 20% and each are give the rate

    5,000 is nil tax
    5,001 - 10,000 is 5%
    10,001-15,000 is 10%
    15,001 - 20,000 is 15%
    20,001- above is 20%

    How can this be incorporate in the formula?

  44. I have 2 columns. One of the column is labeled "Earnings Overpriced". In that column I have successfully calculated either "Overpriced" or nothing appears in the cells. In the second column labeled "Cash Flow Overpriced". In that column I have successfully calculated either "Overpriced" or nothing appears in the cells. In a third column I want excel to look at both these column cells and when "Overpriced" appears in both columns I want excel to calculated in the third column "Earnings and Cash Flow Overpriced". When the "Overpriced" appears in only the Earnings column and the Cash Flow column has nothing in the cell, I want excel to calculate "Earnings Overpriced". When the "Overprice" appears only in the Cash Flow column but the Earnings column has nothing in it, I want excel to calculate "Cash Flow Overpriced". When both columns have nothing in them, I would like excel to place a "Buy" in the cell. This seems simple to me but I can't get my formula to work.

    Appreciate any help you can provide. Tony

  45. Hello,

    - Column A contains % change values that are positive and negative. Column A has rows that contain no values.

    -I'd like to display the % change values that are positive in Column B and nothing if a Column A row contains no value.
    -I'd like to display the % change values that are negative in Column C and nothing if a Column A row contains no value.

    Thank you very much!

    1. Hi! Please re-check the article above since it covers your task. If I understand correctly, thy this formula

      IF(A1>0,A1,"")

  46. Hi there!
    Loved using this for my basic data entry but now i have a super complicated entry! (in my mind at least)

    I have multiple entries containing different "finishes" eg Black 16mm in A B C D E
    I need a cell to basically run a bunch of formulas and add text where the values are matching
    for example i have a black 16mm board but i have 5 different finishes for this board - we'll call them A, B, C, D, E
    Can I get a single cell formula to basically look at all these values (A-E) and spit out the value i need like "Black 16mm C"

    I currently have a formula saying if "A" then TEXT, if not ATTENTION but having to do this for many seperate values is time consuming!

  47. I compare values in two columns of a row and using ÍF" condition I confirms whether they are same.
    But , even ifthe values are same, the Ïf"condition formula returns "False" in certain cases( not in all cases).Why it is so?

  48. I need to write a formula that states if a values multiplied by another value plus a value divided by 2 is less than a value in a cell it will equal that number in the cell plus 1

    1. I hope you have studied the recommendations in the tutorial above. It contains answers to your question.

  49. Hi,
    I have a value in cell b1("Date") and b2("Transferred"). If B2=Transferred, then b1 and b2 must return a blank values
    If b1 and b2 have no values, then cells remains blank
    if b1("date") and B2 says Dismissed or Resigned, then both cells stay as is.
    Please assist.
    Thank you

    1. I don't understand how B2 can simultaneously have the value "Transferred" and return an blank value. Explain.

  50. A2, B2 & C2 having NA then result come delete or A2, B2 & C2 HAVING OTHER VALUE THEN result come no action

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