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 94. Total comments: 4830

  1. Hello everybody can someone help me, i need to link two tables together with a condition .
    For example I have To tables tasks For week1 and tasks for week 2. And i want to make if the task didnt accomplished in week 1 it should be transformed automatically to week2.

  2. Time WOB: tons Top Drive RPM: Result of value of time
    when WOB>0 and Top drive
    RPM=0 like 9 minutes in

    a result column
    1:34:00 AM 0 44
    1:34:30 AM 0 44
    1:35:00 AM 0 43
    1:35:30 AM 0 44
    1:36:00 AM 0 43
    1:36:30 AM 0 44
    1:37:00 AM 0 42
    1:37:30 AM 0 43

    these exactly are recorded time based data which is recorded every 30 seconds, so i need to get the exact sum value of the first time column like 02:12:15 in a separate column when wob>0 and Top drive rpm=0 this is the same question above

  3. Hi everybody, could you help me please..i have two issues
    first one: if i have a time column like each cell have a time value like 12:51:00 and the other cell down in same column 12:52:00 and so on all the column... i need to make a function which let me get the sum of the time column as a value like from 12:51:00 to 12:59 and i need the result equal 9 minutes.
    second issue: if have i need to make a result if B2>0 and C2=0 i need D2= the value of A2.. thanks alot

    1. Hello Ahmed!
      1. Time in Excel is a fractional part of 24-hour period, i.e. 24 hours is regarded as 1. You need to deduct the first time from the last one to find the time interval. To display this interval in minutes, you need to multiply the result by 24 and 60 as there are 24 hours in a day and 60 minutes in an hour.
      =(F10-F1)*24*60
      Cell format is Number.
      2. You can use the following formula:
      =IF(AND(B2>0,C2=0),D2,"")

  4. suppose the quantity in "A1"cell =1000
    I want to type quantity in "B1"cell with following conditions -
    if quantity of "B1"is lesser than "A1",take the quantity as it is.
    if quantity of "B1"is more than "A1",take the quantity as "A1".
    if quantity of "B1"is same as "A1",take the quantity as it is.

    Pl send me the formula for above.
    Regards,
    Umesh M

    1. Hello Umesh,

      If you want to use the value in cell B1 as a condition in the formula, you need to enter the formula in a different cell:
      =IF(B1<A1,B1,IF(B1>A1,A1,B1))

      I hope this helps.

  5. Hi

    As I understand you would recommend using nested IF Function (for example : =IF(Con1,IF(Con2, "A","B"),"B") )instead of AND with if (=IF(AND(Con1,Con2),"A","B"))?

    Is that right?

    Many thanks.

    1. Hello Arash,

      Thank you for your question.

      The choice depends on your task. When you use nested IF, you are saying that the cell can comply with one of the conditions and return the respective result. For example, your first formula would look something like this: =IF(Con1,"A",IF(Con2, "B","C"))
      Excel would read it the following way: if condition 1 is true, then we should see "A", if condition 2 is true, then we should see "B", otherwise we should show "C".

      When you use AND with IF, you'd want both conditions to be met. So when you type =IF(AND(Con1,Con2),"A","B") you say that if Condition 1 and Condition 2 are true at the same time, you will see "A", if not then you will see "B".

      I hope this clarifies the way it works for you.

  6. I want to know if i add three cells value and result is 100. This 100 how its came in words in excel putting formula or others way to get?

  7. I need a formula that looks at multiple cells in a column and decides if the date shown in each cell falls between February 21, 2016 and February 27, 2016. If it does then it adds it to a running quantity in the cell where the formula exists.

    Thank you very much

    1. Hello Ty!
      You can use the following formula:
      =COUNTIFS(D1:D25,">"&DATE(2016,2,21),D1:D25,"<"&DATE(2016,2,27)) Where D1:D25 are the cells with dates.

  8. Hi, I would like to have equation for: If a2>=5; Efficient, If a2=3; Average, If a2=2; Poor, If a2<2 ;"" (blank).

    Thank you.

    1. Hi Mitesh,

      You can use several conditions in the formula:
      =IF(A2>=5,"Efficient",IF(A2=3,"Average",IF(A2=2, "Poor","")))

  9. Hi, I want formula of in lst column if date is 15.03.2015 in 2nd column March-2015 if date is 16.03.2015 in 2nd column April-2015. Please help formula.

    1. Hi, I want formula of in lst column if date is 15.03.2015 in 2nd column March-2015 if date is 16.03.2015 in 2nd column April-2015. Please help formula.

  10. I have a spreadsheet for stock market transaction. I need to do the following check. If it is a BUY(LONG) transaction, return profit as exit cost-entry cost. If it is a SELL(SHORT) transaction, function should return profit as entry cost-exit cost. My columns are D - BUY or SELL depending on type of transaction. G- Entry cost and K - Exit cost. I made the following formula .

    If(D2=BUY, K2-G2, G2-K2). It is returning a #Name? error. How to make this formula.

    Thanks for the help.

    1. Hello Aravind,

      Please make sure you include the text in quotes, e.g.
      =IF(D2="BUY",K2-G2, G2-K2)

  11. just an addition: It need to be able to find it in every row since I have a lot of rows.

  12. Hi guys,
    I have coloums of prices form different shops. I need to identify which row has the cheapest (minimum) price and have the outcome of the coloumn name (shop name). I can of course use =min to find the lowest, but how can I get the output of the shop name for each minimum?
    Thanks!

    1. Hello Anders!
      You can use the formula: =INDEX(A1:A4,MATCH(MIN(B1:B4),B1:B4,0))
      Where A1:A4 are the shop names, and B1:B4 are the cells that contain prices.

  13. Hi,

    How to fix selected sentences in at one location in excel ??

    Example,
    I have 2 different location name one of INDIA & second is USA. How can I make formula for no one can type any other location name accept only INDIA & USA.

    Thanks.

    Laxman Purohit

    1. Hello Laxman,
      You can use Data Validation in Excel. First you need to create a reference list with your location names, you can do it on any other sheet. Then select the cell where you want to get just one of these values, go to Data tab in Excel and select Data Validation. Choose to allow "List" and refer to your location names in the "Source" field. You can unselect "Ignore blank" if the cell has to have a value, and enter error alert on the respective tab.

      1. Thank you so much Irina... !!!

  14. I have a list of user log ins on PCs. The same PC could be used by any number of users. So, just making a list of PCs that need to be updated and having 14000 lines of PCs, is there a way to parse the list to just include a PC name just once.
    Ex:
    A2=PC1 To Show PC1
    A3=PC1 PC2
    A4=PC1 PC3
    A5=PC2
    A6=PC3
    A7=PC3

    1. Hello Cal,

      If you need to keep the original list, you can run our Duplicate Remover add-in, choose to look for uniques and copy them to a new worksheet.
      Otherwise you can choose to remove duplicates from your original list to get a list of unique PC names.

      1. Thanks Irina! I wasn't aware of that function.

  15. Thank you Shvetlana. I had a couple of queries about 2 different formulae but after reading all the comments and the answers that you have given, I could figure them out on my own. Thank you!

  16. I have Got the formula Thanks.
    =IF(F7>=I7,"Ok",IF(AND(F7>=""),"","Not Ok"))

    1. Hello Faheem Ahmad,

      If you are trying to show "Ok" when cell F7 contains a value over 17, and to show "Not Ok" when it is 17 or less, then you can use the following formula:
      =IF(F7>17,"Ok","Not ok")

      If your task is different, please describe it in more detail.

  17. Hello,

    I'm trying to use an if function to pull data from one worksheet to another based on the text in a column.

    Example: Sheet 1 has roughly 500 rows of data, and I want to pull only the rows that where "SS" is included (not exactly) in column C. I've failed so many different ways, not ever sure which formula example to share:/ Any help would be appreciated.

    1. Hello Jason,

      It sounds like you can filter the table by values in column C and copy all rows that contain "SS". If this doesn't help, please send a sample worksheet to support@ablebits.com and include a link to this blog post and your comment number. We'll do our best to assist you.

      1. I appreciate the response and i took you up on your offer. I just sent you a copy of the spreadsheet and a bit more details. Thanks for your follow up.

    2. Dear try Pivot Table, might be it helps.

  18. Hi Svetlana
    i have a formula below but i want to add one more thing if c2 is blank then answer should blank.
    =IF(b2>=c2, "Ok", "Not Ok")

    Thanks

    1. Hello Faheem Ahmad,

      Just like in the example above, you can use nested IF functions:
      =IF(C2="","",IF(B2>=C2,"Ok","Not Ok"))

      1. Thanks Dear <3

  19. Hello!
    I am a novice with excel trying to create a nested 'if' formula to calculate a bonus.

    It needs to calculate '50-59' as '1', '60-69' as '2' etc.

    This is what I have tried...

    =IF(D47>=50=60=70495969<79,3,0)))

    Neither is working for me and I have no idea what I'm doing?

    Please can someone help as I am trying to create a salary sheet for a small business.

    1. Hi Craig,

      For this task, you'd better use nested If functions beginning with the highest group (70-79 in this example):

      =IF(D47>=70, 3, IF(D47>=60, 2, IF(D47>=50, 1, "")))

    2. Hey Craig,

      You can try following formula and can modify as per your need.

      =IF(AND(A1>=60,A1<70),2,IF(AND(A1=50),1,""))

      I assumed you have data in cell A1.

      Let me know if this works for you. :)

      Anil Dhawan

  20. Thanks for replying. I will put my question better this time.
    I want to make a formula to say if D2 less than 1501 then "1"but if D2 is more than 1501 but less than 3001 then "2" and if D2 is greater than 3001 then "3". I just can't seem to use IF correctly to make this work.

    1. Hello Philip,

      You can use the following formula for your task:
      =IF(D2>3001,3,IF(D2>1501,2, 1))

      Just make sure you start with the highest number. If it's more than 3001, the formula will return 3, if it's more than 1501, it will return 2, otherwise, i.e. if it is less than 1501, it will return 1.

    2. hi,
      =IF(D2=1501,D23001,"3","")))

  21. I require a code for

    IF E4 = Closed then E4 fill colour will be Green if not it will be Red

    Wonder if you can help? also need it for whole column eg E4-E20?? same formula just whole column

    1. Hello Matty,

      You will need to add two conditional formatting rules: click on "Conditional formatting" icon on the Home tab, choose to "Use a formula to determine which cells to format" and enter =$E2="Closed", set the necessary fill color and click Ok. Then create a similar rule for Red color depending on the value you have in other cells.
      You can find a detailed description of conditional formatting in this blog post:
      https://www.ablebits.com/office-addins-blog/excel-conditional-formatting-formulas/

  22. Are there any rules while using the word "TRUE" and "FALSE" in IF formula
    For example,
    =IF(A2="TRUE","A","B") - Even A2 is true, this formula is not working. It gives always "B". Why? Then I just remove brackets and just put the formula like =IF(A2=TRUE,"A","B"), it is working. Any concerns?

    1. Hi Magil,

      The "TRUE" in brackets is a string, not boolean value.
      The formula =IF(A2="TRUE","A","B") will return "A" if you have the "TRUE" as string in cell A2. Please try to type "TRUE" in cell A2 and change the cell format to Text.

  23. if(V11>3 & V11<5)then (ok), if not (not ok)
    any one can help :\

    1. =IF(AND(V11>3, V11<5),"OK","NOT OK")

  24. Why does this change what I write?

    1. Hi,

      use this formula
      =if(D2=3001,"3",""))

      1. =IF(AND(D2>1501,D2<3001=3001,3,""))

        1. Formula didn't copy right - here you go.
          =IF(AND(N2>1501,N2=3001,3,""))

          1. Our blog engine often distorts "<" and ">" symbols in formulas, sorry for this, but we just cannot fix it on our side.

            If my understanding of the task is correct, I'd suggest using nested If's:

            =IF(D2>3001, 3, IF(D2>1501, 2, ""))

            If D2 is greater than 1501 but less than 3001 it returns 2, if D2 is greater than 3001 it returns 3, an empty string otherwise.

  25. I want to make a formula to say if D2 1501 but less than 3001 then "2" and if D2>3001 then "3". I just can't seem to use IF correctly to make this work.

  26. I want to make a formula to say if D21501 but less then 3001 then "2" and if D2>3001 then "3". I just can't seem to use IF correctly to make this work.

  27. In G8, enter an IF formula to calculate the share price difference between 2/25/2016 and 2/26/2016 for each of the 30 companies if that company’s share price was not zero on 2/26/2016. In case of a zero price, the formula returns “N/A”. Autofill the cells below to G37 with the formula in G8.Im not sure how to write this formula.

    1. I'd need a bit more info to actually write up a formula, but sounds like you'll want to do a VLOOKUP

      1. Hello!
        In a situation #N/A may use the formula IFNA.
        eg: =IFNA(VLOOKUP("Seattle",$A$5:$B$10,0),"Not found")
        (IFNA tests the result of the VLOOKUP function. Because Seattle is not found in the lookup range, VLOOKUP returns the #N/A error value. IFNA returns the string "Not found" in the cell instead of the standard #N/A error value.)

  28. Hello ,

    I want your support for if condition formula ,,,, I do export from 2 plants into different destinations and I want that the formula to chose for the destination the plant from which it departure , fro exemple: lets say departure plants ,, (X1 and X 2 ) and destination as follow, i have rapa , rochling and stirling park from X1 and for X2 i have the rest.....) i want the formula to put x1 or x 2 depanding on the destination,

    thanks in advance

  29. Hi,
    I was wondering if you could help me with a formula that would label all orders between 8:00 and 17:00 "Day" and all orders outside this timeframe "Night".
    I had =IF(H2>=8,H2<=17,"Day","Night" but it doesn't work.
    Thanks

    1. Hi Clara,

      use this formula

      =if(and(H2>=8,H2<=17),"Day","Night")

  30. Good day,

    Can you help with this formula: If C2=1 then D2=E1

    A B C D E

    1 (%) Spent to date 0.00%

    2 Feb-16 0 0.00% R -
    3 Mar-16 0 0.00% R -
    4 Apr-16 0 0.00% R -
    5 May-16 0 0.00% R -
    6 Jun-16 0 0.00% R -

  31. In sheet 1 Month & year and in sheet 2 period ( from to )i want formula if the ending date is 15th, month & year taken in sheet 1 earlier month & year. if date is 16th month & year taken in sheet 1 after month & year in sheet 1

    please help me.

  32. My if statement does not work on text data, only numeric. I have changed the format to read General or Text for the two columns that I'm trying to compare and it is as if it does not know it is text?

    1. Hello Vickie,

      Please make sure you enter text in quotes. If it still doesn't work, please share the formula you are trying to use.

  33. I want to enter an if function that says if something in cell A3 matches sheet 2 cells B2:B18 than insert what is in cell F2:f18.

  34. Hi,

    need help to formula the following:

    If A1 is ">40", A2 Value should be "1"
    If A1 is "31-40", A2 Value should be "2"
    If A1 is "30", A2 Value should be "3"
    If A1 is "20", A2 Value should be "4"
    If A1 is "<15", A2 Value should be "5"

    I can only get the 1st and the 2nd correct.
    results of 3rd-5th is the same as the 2nd which is "2"

    --------------

    I have another one which is perfect:
    =IF(Q13<6,1,IF(Q13<=6.4,2,IF(Q13=6.5,3,IF(Q137,5)))))

    but couldn't apply that same formula to the first problem.

    hope anyone can help me.

    Thanks!

    1. Hi Ali.
      You can use this formula:
      =IF(A1<15,5,IF(A1=20,4,IF(A1=30,3,IF(AND(A1>=31,A1<=40),2,IF(A1>40,1,"")))))

  35. I am having difficulty with a formula used to calculate whether a pupil has passed a unit in their course.

    This is the formula, but when I enter P in either of the first 2 columns then I get #NAME. Any help would be much appreciated.

    =IF(OR(BB7="p",BC7="p"),IF(or(BK7="p"BF7="p",IF(or(BL7="p",BG7="p",IF(or(BM7="p",BH="p")"P",""),""),""),"")

    1. Hi Janine,

      u try this

      =IF(OR(BB7="p",BC7="p"),"p",IF(or(BK7="p"BF7="p"),"p",IF(or(BL7="p",BG7="p"),"p",IF(or(BM7="p",BH="p"),"P",""))))

  36. Hi, this was very informative! Thank you so much!
    I'm wondering if you can take your idea one step further. I currently have =IF(F2>I2, "2", "0"), so if F2 is greater than I2, my cell shows a 2, and if it is smaller than, it shows a 0... but how do I include if F2=I2, the cell will show 1? (In essence, I'm trying to calculate scores for baseball, where a win = 2 points, a loss = 0 points and a tie = 1 point. Thanks in advance!
    Cheers,
    Shannon

    1. Thanks to your question I've managed to solve mine. Many thanks x

    2. Hi Shannon,

      =if(F2>I2,"2",if(F2<I2,"0",if(F2=I2,"1","")))

      1. Thank you, Hemanth! This is just the question that I had as well. Very helpful.

  37. Hi,
    am using =LEN(N4)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(N4,",","")) to determine the number of text values separated by commas. I need to count the number of text values in the cell which are separated by a comma. e.g.
    cell b3 alpha,bravo, charlie
    cell b3 contains 3 text values, but only 2 commas
    How do we count the number of text values in a cell, or the number of commas + 1 ?

    in pseudo:
    if cell contains one comma,
    then comma count is one, but the text value is two,
    (if text values are separated by a comma, then this means that
    there is two text values)
    if there two commas found,
    then there must be 3 text values, etc.

    thanks!

    1. Hello Steve,

      Assuming there is always one text value more than there are commas, you can simply add 1 to your original formula:
      =LEN(N2)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(N2,",",""))+1

  38. Hello,

    I have a spreadsheet that I need to remove duplicates but I have multiple rows have the same "Students Name" but the variances are on 2 columns Yes for Pell and Yes for DL. If the student received Pell and DL it shows in 2 rows I need to have it in 1 row. Also some of the students only received Pell but not the DL. I know I did this If formula last year but I just can't remember exactly please help.

    StudentName DL Pell FundSource
    Aguirre, Leticia Y N DIRUNSUB
    Aguirre, Leticia N Y PELL
    Aguirre, Leticia Y N DIRSUB

  39. I want to use excel formula using if. (If I enter 1,00,000 the result is to come 15,000 in specific column

    (If I enter 2,00,000 instead of 1 lac the result is to be come 16,000 in in the same specific column

    (If I enter 3,00,000 instead of 1 lac or 2 lacs & the result is to come 17,000 in the specific column

    (If I enter 4,00,000 instead of 1,2,or 3 lacs the result is to come 18,000 in the same specific column

    (If I enter 5,00,000 instead of 1,2,3 or 4 lacs the result is to come 19,000 in the same specific colum

  40. I need help to construct one formula
    i.e.

    if the value in A1 is greater than 10 than result will be 1 and if the value is less than 5 result will be .5

    1. Hi,
      =if(A1>=10,"1",if(A1<=5,"5",""))

  41. I had a formula in E12 as =Sum(E8:E11) simple right, but now I have to edit that so that the cells remain blank if no value has been entered for "Cash" in Cell 8. I have tried so many different combinations with IF and I am not getting this at all any suggestions?

  42. IF I TYPE W IN COLUMN A1 COLUMN B1 SHOULD DISPLAY 5

    PLEASE GIVE A FORMULA

    ND

    1. HI,
      =if(A1="w","5","")

  43. I seem to have a new one. My data has quotes already in the cell.

    Column A
    "Data1"
    "Data2"
    "Data3"

    Since it already has quotes, I am having trouble getting excel to recognize the data since the quotes are use twice?

    IF=(A1=""Data1"","No"

    Is there a way to say the data already has quote or to separate it in the formula?

  44. I am trying to to run a formula for keeping track of 2 cash floats. We have a main float and an overflow float. If we draw cash, I would like it to subtract from the overflow first, then when it runs out, draw from the main. The main needs to have a cap of $300, so when we add cash, it first adds to the main until it reached $300 and then will start adding to the overflow. Please let me know if you need any further information. Thank you for your time!

    1. Nevermind, figured it out. Thanks!

  45. hi guys can somebody help me about this function ?
    =IF(E2>=1000,"High Sale", IF(AND(E2=500), "Medium Sale", "Low Sale"))
    i'm pretty sure it's not true
    and also I can not understand what does it mean :

    Write a formula (using the data in All Data sheet) in cell B4, to display the total sales in state in cell A4. Your formula should be written in such away that it can be copied to cells B5:B15.

    1. Hello Arman,

      It looks like you need the following formula:
      =IF(E2>=1000, "High Sale", IF(E2>=500, "Medium Sale","Low Sale"))

      As for your second task, please describe it in more detail. We'll do our best to assist you.

  46. I need help with a formula that will say If W8 contains a date, then X8 needs to be that date plus 21 days. Example: If W8 has 3/12/2016 entered, I want X8 to show 4/2/2016 but ONLY if W8 has a date in it. Otherwise I want X8 to remain empty.
    I got this far =IF(ISBLANK($W8)=FALSE,"?????","") but don't know how to code the return of the "date + 21 days part" (the ????? part in the formula above).
    Thanks in advance!

    1. Hello Tonya,

      You can set the format of cell X8 to "Date" and enter the following formula:
      =IF(ISBLANK($W8)=FALSE,$W8+21,"")

  47. Hi..
    I want to replace all special character with space from a sentence in excel.

    pl. help us with formula.

    Thanks,,

  48. Hello everyone, I'm trying to populate a certain cell using this technique. What I got so far is this, but it doesnt seem to be doing what I want.

    =IF(E3<TODAY(), "=.5*D3", "")

    I want it so that when the current date is past the date listed in cell E3, the selected cell will populate half the value of cell D3 if true, and nothing if it is false. Unfortunately, I don't really know how to populate the cell with the equation if true.

    Can anyone help?

    1. Hello Vincent,

      Your formula is almost right,but it doesn't need the second equals sign and quotes as it gets the calculated value:
      =IF(E3<TODAY(), D3*0.5, "")

  49. I work at a school, and i manage the book shop over there, so i want to keep my record straight for my boss, i forget things so fast :) and also my purchase record, thats why i want to set a formula to fastly enter. i deal with notebooks, diaries and artpads, so I want a formula for text and numbers both, for example if i write 'D' in a cell, the formula will write the amount of '55' for a Diary, and so on for notebook, i mean if i write 'N' for notebook, the formula will write the amount '50' for me. I just want to set that formula. So i can deal with other customers also.

    1. Hello Ali,

      If your list of possible letters is limited, you can use several conditions in your formula:
      =IF(A2="D",55,IF(A2="N",50,IF(A2="A",45,"")))

      Here A2 is the cell where you enter the letter that corresponds to the product.

  50. Hello! I have worked out a formula that calculates hours from times given in order to calculate salaries. The following formula as you can see is for individuals that work 8hrs and sign in and out for their breaks.

    =IF((((AJ93-AI93)+(AL93-AK93)+(AN93-AM93)+(AP93-AO93))*24)>8,8,((AJ93-AI93)+(AL93-AK93)+(AN93-AM93)+(AP93-AO93))*24)

    This one calculates the O/T hrs above 8hrs

    =IF(((AJ93-AI93)+(AL93-AK93)+(AN93-AM93)+(AP93-AO93))*24>8, ((AJ93-AI93)+(AL93-AK93)+(AN93-AM93)+(AP93-AO93))*24-8,0)

    I am having two problems; the first is that I cannot work out how to do an "if" formula for an individual with only an "in" and "out" time?

    Also there is one whose "in" time is "pm" and the "out" time is "am" which is causing bigger problems. Is there a formula that doesn't need the dates? I have tried many "if" formulas but all are giving me a "-16" instead of an "8" no matter how I adjust it?

    This seems to be a very helpful forum.

    Any advice would be appreciated!

    Thank you!

    Kind regards.

    1. Hello Craig,

      You can add the following condition to process blank cells correctly:
      IF(OR(ISBLANK(AM95);ISBLANK(AN95));0;AN95-AM95)

      As for your second question, you can add one more condition to calculate time on different days:
      IF(OR(ISBLANK(AO95);ISBLANK(AP95));0;*IF(AP95-AO95>0;AP95-AO95;AP95-AO95+1)*)

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