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In this example, the goal is to sort a list of names and birthdays by month and year. The complication is that the birthdays also include a birth year, so if we try to sort the raw data by birthdays, we'll end up with a list of birthdays sorted first by year. We will actually see the oldest...Read more

In this example, the goal is to get the minimum value for each group in the data as shown. The easiest way to solve this problem is with the MINIFS function. However, there are actually several options. If you need more flexibility (you need to work with arrays instead of ranges), you can...Read more

In this example, the goal is to replace the comma-separated values in column B with the line break-separated values seen in column D. In a problem like this, the first step is to identify the delimiter, which is the character (or characters) that separate each value we want to...Read more

In this example, the goal is to display the biggest 3 gainers and losers in a set of data where Start and End columns contain values at two points in time, and Change contains the percentage change in the values. The data in B5:E16 is defined as an Excel Table...Read more

In this example, the goal is to calculate the average call time (duration in minutes) for each month listed in column G using the dates in column B and the durations in column E. The article below explains two approaches. The first formula is based on the...Read more

The goal of this formula is to verify whether the values in column B follow the format xx-xxxx-xxx, where "x" represents any single character. The IF function doesn't support wildcards directly, so we can't use IF by itself. Instead, we can combine the IF function with the COUNTIF function...Read more

In this example, the goal is to create initials or acronyms with a formula using the data in column B as the source text. The formula should parse the text in column B, build a list of capital letters used to start words and join the capital letters together in a single text string. The article...Read more

Note: If you are new to INDEX and MATCH, see: How to use INDEX and MATCH

In a standard configuration, the INDEX function retrieves a value at a given row and column. For example, to get the value at row 2 and column 3 in a given range:

...Read more

The goal in this example is to use a formula to report which things exist in a cell. The list of things to check for is in the named range things (E5:E9). The result is returned as a comma separated text string.

The first step in...Read more

In this example, the goal is to sum Amounts in column C by state using the two-letter codes in column E. Note the states are abbreviated, "CA" is California, "FL" is Florida, "TX" is Texas, and "WA" is Washington. The challenge in this case is that the state abbreviations are embedded...Read more

In this example, the goal is to look up and retrieve an entire column of values in a set of data. For example, when a value like "Q3" is entered into cell H4, all values in the range E5:E16 should be returned. For convenience and readability, quarter (C4:F4) and ...Read more

In this example, the goal is to create a list of pay dates that follow a semimonthly schedule. A semimonthly pay schedule means employees are paid twice a month, usually on fixed dates such as the 1st and 15th or the 15th and the last day of the month. This results in 24 pay periods over...Read more

In this example, we have a list of URLs. The goal is to get the portion of each URL that appears after the domain name. In the current version of Excel, the easiest way to do this is to use the TEXTAFTER function. In an older version of Excel, you can use a formula based on the MID, FIND,...Read more

Traditionally, counting unique items with an Excel formula has been a tricky problem, because there hasn't been a dedicated unique function. However, that changed when dynamic arrays were added to Excel 365, along with several new functions...Read more

Excel doesn't have a way to cast the letters in a text string to an array directly in a formula. As a workaround, this formula uses the MID function, with help from the ROW and INDIRECT functions to achieve the same result. The formula in C5, copied down, is:...Read more

In this example, the goal to calculate the difference as a percentage between two values then check the result to see if its within a given target percentage. The values come from the Expected and Actual columns in the worksheet. The challenge is that the difference might be negative or positive...Read more

The goal is to display a blank cell based on a specific condition. In the worksheet shown, we want to return the value from column C, but only when the value in column B is "A". If the value in column B is anything else, we want to display nothing. The easiest way to solve this problem is with...Read more

The Excel RANDBETWEEN function returns a random integer between given numbers.  In the example shown, the formula in B5 is:

=RANDBETWEEN(1,100)

This formula is then copied down from B5 to...Read more

In a nutshell, this formula uses the LARGE function to find the nth largest value in a set of data. Once we have that value, we plug it into a standard INDEX and MATCH formula to retrieve the associated name. In other words, we use the nth largest value...Read more

The goal is to generate a dynamic list of sequential working days with a formula. The start date should be a variable input, and weekends and holidays should be automatically excluded from the output. In the current version of Excel, the easiest way to solve this problem is to use the...Read more

In this example, the goal is to calculate total amounts in column C that occur in the last 30 days, based on a current date of December 30, 2022. There are three basic approaches to solving this problem: (1) a traditional approach based on the SUMIFS...Read more

In this example, the goal is to sum the amounts shown in column C by month using the dates in column B. The article below explains two approaches. One approach is based on the SUMIFS function, which can sum numeric values based on multiple...Read more

Excel does not provide a dedicated "contains" function, but you can create a custom function to test if a cell contains one or many strings with the LAMBDA function. LAMBDA functions do not require VBA, but are only available in...Read more

In this example, we'll use SEQUENCE to generate all dates in a given month. Creating a complete list of dates for a specific month is a common Excel task with many practical applications, from building project timelines and work schedules to generating calendar views and tracking daily data...Read more

In this example, the goal is to calculate a total for each year that appears in column F. All data is in an Excel Table called data in the range B5:D16. The main challenge is that we have dates in column B, but we don't have separate year...Read more

In this example, the goal is to return a list of the locations for a specific value in a 2D array of values (i.e., a table). The target value is entered in cell N5, and the table being tested is in the range C4:L16. The coordinates are supplied from row 4 and column B, as seen in the...Read more