Excel if with text string

Normally, If you want to write an IF formula for text values in combining with the below two logical operators in excel, such as: “equal to” or “not equal to”.

Excel IF function check if a cell contains text(case-insensitive)

By default, IF function is case-insensitive in excel. It means that the logical text for text values will do not recognize case in the IF formulas. For example, the following two IF formulas will get the same results when checking the text values in cells.

=IF(B1="excel","yes","no")
=IF(B1="EXCEl","yes","no")

The IF formula will check the values of cell B1 if it is equal to “excel” word, If it is TRUE, then return “yes”, otherwise return “no”. And the logical test in the above IF formula will check the text values in the logical_test argument, whatever the logical_test values are “Excel”, “eXcel”, or “EXCEL”, the IF formula don’t care about that if the text values is in lowercase or uppercase, It will get the same results at last.

Excel IF function check if a cell contains text (case-sensitive)

If you want to check text values in cells using IF formula in excel (case-sensitive), then you need to create a case-sensitive logical test and then you can use IF function in combination with EXACT function to compare two text values. So if those two text values are exactly the same, then return TRUE. Otherwise return FALSE.

So we can write down the following IF formula combining with EXACT function:

=IF(EXACT(B1,"excel"),"yes","no")

Excel IF function check if part of cell matches specific text

If you want to check if part of text values in cell matches the specific text rather than exact match, to achieve this logic text, you can use IF function in combination with ISNUMBER and SEARCH Function in excel.

Both ISNUMBER and SEARCH functions are case-insensitive in excel.

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("x",B1)),"good","bad")

For above the IF formula, it will Check to see if B1 contain the letter x.

Also, we can use FIND function to replace the SEARCH function in the above IF formula. It will return the same results.

 Excel IF function with Wildcards text value

If you wan to use wildcard charcter in an IF formula, for example, if any of the values in column B contains “*xc*”, then return “good”, others return “bad”. You can not directly use the wildcard characters in IF formula, and we can use IF function in combination with COUNTIF function. Let’s see the following IF formula:

=IF(COUNTIF(B1:B4,"*xc*"), "good","bad")

• Excel IF Function With Numbers
  If you want to check if a cell values is between two values or checking for the range of numbers or multiple values in cells, at this time, we need to use AND or OR logical function in combination with the logical operator and IF function…

• Excel EXACT function
  The Excel SEARCH function returns the number of the starting location of a substring in a text string.The syntax of the EXACT function is as below:= EXACT (text1,text2)…
• Excel COUNTIF function
  The Excel COUNTIF function will count the number of cells in a range that meet a given criteria.= COUNTIF (range, criteria) …
  
• Excel ISNUMBER function
  The Excel ISNUMBER function returns TRUE if the value in a cell is a numeric value, otherwise it will return FALSE.
• Excel IF function
  The Excel IF function perform a logical test to return one value if the condition is TRUE and return another value if the condition is FALSE….
• Excel SEARCH function
  The Excel SEARCH function returns the number of the starting location of a substring in a text string.…

I know this is a really old post, but I found it in searching for a solution to the same problem. I don’t want a nested if-statement, and Switch is apparently newer than the version of Excel I’m using. I figured out what was going wrong with my code, so I figured I’d share here in case it helps someone else.

I remembered that VLOOKUP requires the source table to be sorted alphabetically/numerically for it to work. I was initially trying to do this…

=LOOKUP(LOWER(LEFT($T$3, 1)),  {"s","l","m"}, {-1,1,0})

and it started working when I did this…

=LOOKUP(LOWER(LEFT($T$3, 1)),  {"l","m","s"}, {1,0,-1})

I was initially thinking the last value might turn out to be a default, so I wanted the zero at the last place. That doesn’t seem to be the behavior anyway, so I just put the possible matches in order, and it worked.

Edit: As a final note, I see that the example in the original post has letters in alphabetical order, but I imagine the real use case might have been different if the error was happening and the letters A, B, and C were just examples.

Excel has a number of formulas that help you use your data in useful ways. For example, you can get an output based on whether or not a cell meets certain specifications. Right now, we’ll focus on a function called “if cell contains, then”. Let’s look at an example.

Jump To Specific Section:

1. Explanation: If Cell Contains
2. If cell contains any value, then return a value
3. If cell contains text/number, then return a value
4. If cell contains specific text, then return a value
5. If cell contains specific text, then return a value (case-sensitive)
6. If cell does not contain specific text, then return a value
7. If cell contains one of many text strings, then return a value
8. If cell contains several of many text strings, then return a value

Excel Formula: If cell contains

Generic formula 

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("abc",A1)),A1,"")

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("abc",B5)),B5,"")

If you want to check whether or not the A1 cell contains the text “Example”, you can run a formula that will output “Yes” or “No” in the B1 cell. There are a number of different ways you can put these formulas to use. At the time of writing, Excel is able to return the following variations:

• If cell contains any value
  
• If cell contains text
• If cell contains number
• If cell contains specific text
• If cell contains certain text string
• If cell contains one of many text strings
• If cell contains several strings

Using these scenarios, you’re able to check if a cell contains text, value, and more. 

Explanation: If Cell Contains

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("abc",B5)),B5,""). Assuming cells run to B5

ISNUMBER(SEARCH("abc",B5))

Read article: Excel efficiency: 11 Excel Formulas To Increase Your Productivity

Using “if cell contains” formulas in Excel

The guides below were written using the latest Microsoft Excel 2019 for Windows 10. Some steps may vary if you’re using a different version or platform. Contact our experts if you need any further assistance.

1. If cell contains any value, then return a value

This scenario allows you to return values based on whether or not a cell contains any value at all. For example, we’ll be checking whether or not the A1 cell is blank or not, and then return a value depending on the result.

• Select the output cell, and use the following formula: =IF(cell<>»», value_to_return, «»).
• For our example, the cell we want to check is A2, and the return value will be No. In this scenario, you’d change the formula to =IF(A2<>»», «No», «»). 
• Since the A2 cell isn’t blank, the formula will return “No” in the output cell. If the cell you’re checking is blank, the output cell will also remain blank.

2. If cell contains text/number, then return a value

With the formula below, you can return a specific value if the target cell contains any text or number. The formula will ignore the opposite data types.

Check for text

• To check if a cell contains text, select the output cell, and use the following formula: =IF(ISTEXT(cell), value_to_return, «»).
• For our example, the cell we want to check is A2, and the return value will be Yes. In this scenario, you’d change the formula to =IF(ISTEXT(A2), «Yes», «»). 
  
  
• Because the A2 cell does contain text and not a number or date, the formula will return “Yes” into the output cell.

Check for a number or date

• To check if a cell contains a number or date, select the output cell, and use the following formula: =IF(ISNUMBER(cell), value_to_return, «»).
• For our example, the cell we want to check is D2, and the return value will be Yes. In this scenario, you’d change the formula to =IF(ISNUMBER(D2), «Yes», «»). 
  
  
• Because the D2 cell does contain a number and not text, the formula will return “Yes” into the output cell.

3. If cell contains specific text, then return a value

To find a cell that contains specific text, use the formula below.

• Select the output cell, and use the following formula: =IF(cell=»text», value_to_return, «»).
• For our example, the cell we want to check is A2, the text we’re looking for is “example”, and the return value will be Yes. In this scenario, you’d change the formula to =IF(A2=»example», «Yes», «»). 
  
  
• Because the A2 cell does consist of the text “example”, the formula will return “Yes” into the output cell.

4. If cell contains specific text, then return a value (case-sensitive)

To find a cell that contains specific text, use the formula below. This version is case-sensitive, meaning that only cells with an exact match will return the specified value.

• Select the output cell, and use the following formula: =IF(EXACT(cell,»case_sensitive_text»), «value_to_return», «»).
• For our example, the cell we want to check is A2, the text we’re looking for is “EXAMPLE”, and the return value will be Yes. In this scenario, you’d change the formula to =IF(EXACT(A2,»EXAMPLE»), «Yes», «»).
• Because the A2 cell does consist of the text “EXAMPLE” with the matching case, the formula will return “Yes” into the output cell.

5. If cell does not contain specific text, then return a value

The opposite version of the previous section. If you want to find cells that don’t contain a specific text, use this formula.

• Select the output cell, and use the following formula: =IF(cell=»text», «», «value_to_return»).
• For our example, the cell we want to check is A2, the text we’re looking for is “example”, and the return value will be No. In this scenario, you’d change the formula to =IF(A2=»example», «», «No»).
  
• Because the A2 cell does consist of the text “example”, the formula will return a blank cell. On the other hand, other cells return “No” into the output cell.

6. If cell contains one of many text strings, then return a value

This formula should be used if you’re looking to identify cells that contain at least one of many words you’re searching for.

• Select the output cell, and use the following formula: =IF(OR(ISNUMBER(SEARCH(«string1», cell)), ISNUMBER(SEARCH(«string2», cell))), value_to_return, «»).
• For our example, the cell we want to check is A2. We’re looking for either “tshirt” or “hoodie”, and the return value will be Valid. In this scenario, you’d change the formula to =IF(OR(ISNUMBER(SEARCH(«tshirt»,A2)),ISNUMBER(SEARCH(«hoodie»,A2))),»Valid «,»»).
  
  
• Because the A2 cell does contain one of the text values we searched for, the formula will return “Valid” into the output cell.

To extend the formula to more search terms, simply modify it by adding more strings using ISNUMBER(SEARCH(«string», cell)).

7. If cell contains several of many text strings, then return a value

This formula should be used if you’re looking to identify cells that contain several of the many words you’re searching for. For example, if you’re searching for two terms, the cell needs to contain both of them in order to be validated.

• Select the output cell, and use the following formula: =IF(AND(ISNUMBER(SEARCH(«string1»,cell)), ISNUMBER(SEARCH(«string2″,cell))), value_to_return,»»).
• For our example, the cell we want to check is A2. We’re looking for “hoodie” and “black”, and the return value will be Valid. In this scenario, you’d change the formula to =IF(AND(ISNUMBER(SEARCH(«hoodie»,A2)),ISNUMBER(SEARCH(«black»,A2))),»Valid «,»»).
  
  
• Because the A2 cell does contain both of the text values we searched for, the formula will return “Valid” to the output cell.

Final thoughts

We hope this article was useful to you in learning how to use “if cell contains” formulas in Microsoft Excel. Now, you can check if any cells contain values, text, numbers, and more. This allows you to navigate, manipulate and analyze your data efficiently.

We’re glad you’re read the article up to here Thank you

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Getting IF Function to Work for Partial Text Match

In the dataset below, we want to write a formula in column B that will search the text in column A.  Our formula will search the column A text for the text sequence “AT” and if found display “AT” in column B.

It doesn’t matter where the letters “AT” occur in the column A text, we need to see “AT” in the adjacent cell of column B.  If the letters “AT” do not occur in the column A text, the formula in column B should display nothing.

Searching for Text with the IF Function

Let’s begin by selecting cell B5 and entering the following IF formula.

=IF(A5="*AT*","AT","")

Notice the formula returns nothing, even though the text in cell A5 contains the letter sequence “AT”.

The reason it fails is that Excel doesn’t work well when using wildcards directly after an equals sign in a formula.

Any function that uses an equals sign in a logical test does not like to use wildcards in this manner.

“But what about the SUMIFS function?”, I hear you saying.

If you examine a SUMIFS function, the wildcards don’t come directly after the equals sign; they instead come after an argument.  As an example:

=SUMIFS($C$4:$C$18,$A$4:$A$18,"*AT*")

The wildcard usage does not appear directly after an equals sign.

SEARCH Function to the Rescue

The first thing we need to understand is the syntax of the SEARCH function.  The syntax is as follows:

SEARCH(find_text, within_text, [start_num])

• find_text – is a required argument that defines the text you are searching for.
• within_text – is a required argument that defines the text in which you want to search for the value defined in the find_text
• Start_num – is an option argument that defines the character number/position in the within_text argument you wish to start searching. If omitted, the default start character position is 1 (the first character on the left of the text.)

To see if the search function works properly on its own, lets perform a simple test with the following formula.

=SEARCH("AT",A5)

We are returned a character position which the letters “AT” were discovered by the SEARCH function.  The first SEARCH found the letters “AT” beginning in the 1^st character position of the text.  The next discovery was in the 5^th character position, and the last discovery was in the 4^th character position.

The “#VALUE!” responses are the SEARCH function’s way of letting us know that the letters “AT” were not found in the search text.

We can use this new information to determine if the text “AT” exists in the companion text strings.  If we see any number as a response, we know “AT” exists in the text string.  If we receive an error response, we know the text “AT” does not exist in the text string.

NOTE: The SEARCH function is NOT case-sensitive.  A search for the letters “AT” would find “AT”, “At”, “aT”, and “at”.  If you wish to search for text and discriminate between different cases (case-sensitive), use the FIND function.  The FIND function works the same as SEARCH, but with the added behavior of case-sensitivity.

Turning Numbers into Decisions

An interesting function in Excel is the ISNUMBER function.  The purpose of the ISNUMBER function is to return “True” if something is a number and “False” if something is not a number.  The syntax is as follows:

ISNUMBER(value)

• value – is a required argument that defines the data you are examining. The value can refer to a cell, a formula, or a name that refers to a cell, formula, or value.

Let’s add the ISNUMBER function to the logic of our previous SEARCH function.

=ISNUMBER(SEARCH("AT",A5))

Any cell that contained a numeric response is now reading “True” and any cell that contained an error is now reading “False”.

We are now able to use the ISNUMBER/SEARCH functions as our wildcard statement in the original IF function.

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("AT",A5)),"AT","")

This is a great way to perform logical tests in functions that do not allow for wildcards.

Let’s see another scenario

Suppose we want to search for two different sets of text (“AT” or “DE”) and return the word “Europe” if either of these text strings are discovered in the searched text.  We will combine the original formula with an OR function to search for multiple text strings.

=IF(OR(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("AT",A5)),ISNUMBER(SEARCH("DE",A5))),
"Europe","")

Practice Workbook

Feel free to Download the Workbook HERE.

Author: Oscar Cronquist Article last updated on October 19, 2021

This article demonstrates different formulas based on if a cell contains a given text.

Formula in cell C3:

=B3=$E$3

The formula shown in the image above in cell C3 returns TRUE or FALSE based on a comparison between cell B3 and cell E3. The equal sign is a logical operator and returns boolean value TRUE or FALSE, it is not case sensitive.

1. If cell contains partial text

The easiest way to check if a cell partially contains a specific text string is, in my opinion, the IF and COUNTIF function combined. The COUNTIF function allows you to count how many times a text string exists in a cell range.

Formula in cell D3:

=IF(COUNTIF(B3, C3), TRUE, FALSE)

The asterisk characters let you perform a wildcard match meaning that it matches any sequence of characters. Adding a beginning and ending asterisk to a text string allows you to check if a cell value contains a specific text string.

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1.1 Explaining formula in cell D3

Step 1 — Check if cell contains text condition

You can’t use asterisks with the equal sign to check if a cell contains a given text, however, the COUNTIF function can do that.

The COUNTIF function calculates the number of cells that is equal to a condition.

COUNTIF(range, criteria)

COUNTIF(B3, C3)

becomes

COUNTIF(«Green, red and blue»,»*red*»)

and returns 1.

Step 2 — Evaluate IF function

The IF function returns one value if the logical test is TRUE and another value if the logical test is FALSE.

IF(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false])

IF(COUNTIF(B3, C3), TRUE, FALSE)

becomes

IF(1, TRUE, FALSE)

The logical_test argument requires boolean values or their numerical equivalents. FALSE = 0 (zero), TRUE any number except zero.

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1.2 If cell contains partial text — hardcoded asterisks

Formula in cell D4:

=IF(COUNTIF(B4, «*»&C4&»*»), TRUE, FALSE)

You don’t have to add asterisks manually to your cell, you can easily build a formula that adds the asterisks automatically, demonstrated in cell D4. The ampersand & character lets you append the asterisks to the text string you want to use.

Note, if a text string is found twice in the same cell the COUNTIF function only returns 1. It counts cells not text strings.

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1. Alternative function — SEARCH function

The SEARCH function returns the position of the character at which a specific text string is found. Luckily the IF function accepts any number as TRUE except 0 (zero), however, the SEARCH function returns an error #VALUE! if it can’t find the text string.

Formula in cell D5:

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH(C5, B5)),1,0)

To avoid the error value I use the ISNUMBER function that returns TRUE if a number and FALSE if anything else, also formula errors.

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2. If cell contains text then return value

The formula in cell C3 checks if cell B3 contains the condition specified in cell E3. It returns the value if TRUE and a blank cell if FALSE.

Formula in cell C3:

=IF(COUNTIF(B3, «*»&$E$3&»*»), B3, «»)

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2.1 Explaining formula in cell C3

Step 1 — Concatenate strings

The asterisk is a wildcard character that matches 0 (zero) to any number of characters. The ampersand character concatenates strings in an Excel formula.

«*»&$E$3&»*»

becomes

«*»&»purple»&»*»

and returns «*purple*».

Step 2 — Check if cell contains string

The COUNTIF function calculates the number of cells that is equal to a condition.

COUNTIF(range, criteria)

COUNTIF(B3, «*»&$E$3&»*»)

becomes

COUNTIF(«Green, red and blue», «*purple*»)

and returns 0 (zero). Purple is not found in cell B3.

Step 3 — Return value if TRUE

The IF function returns one value if the logical test is TRUE and another value if the logical test is FALSE.

IF(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false])

IF(COUNTIF(B3, «*»&$E$3&»*»), B3, «»)

becomes

IF(0, B3, «»)

and returns «» in cell C3.

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3. If cell contains text then add text from another cell

The formula in cell C3 checks if cell B3 contains the condition specified in cell E3. It returns the value concatenated with a value on the same row from column if TRUE and a blank cell if FALSE.

Formula in cell C3:

=IF(COUNTIF(B3, «*»&$F$3&»*»), B3&C3, «»)

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3.1 Explaining formula in cell C4

Step 1 — Concatenate strings

The asterisk is a wildcard character that matches 0 (zero) to any number of characters. The ampersand character concatenates strings in an Excel formula.

«*»&$E$3&»*»

becomes

«*»&»purple»&»*»

and returns «*purple*».

Step 2 — Check if cell contains string

The COUNTIF function calculates the number of cells that is equal to a condition.

COUNTIF(range, criteria)

COUNTIF(B4, «*»&$E$3&»*»)

becomes

COUNTIF(«Black, purple, white», «*purple*»)

and returns 1. Purple is found in cell B4.

Step 3 — Return concatenated value if TRUE

The IF function returns one value if the logical test is TRUE and another value if the logical test is FALSE.

IF(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false])

IF(COUNTIF(B4, «*»&$E$3&»*»), B4&C4, «»)

becomes

IF(0, B4&C4, «»)

becomes

IF(0, «Black, purple, white»&»#11», «»)

and returns «Black, purple, white#11» in cell D4.

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4. If cell contains text then sum

The formula in cell F3 checks if cells in column B contain the condition specified in cell E3 and sums the corresponding values in column C.

Formula in cell C3:

=SUM(ISNUMBER(SEARCH(E3, B3:B6))*C3:C6)

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4.1 Explaining formula in cell C4

Step 1 — Search for string

The SEARCH function returns a number representing the position of character at which a specific text string is found reading left to right. It is not a case-sensitive search.

SEARCH(find_text,within_text, [start_num])

SEARCH(E3, B3:B6)

becomes

SEARCH(«North», {«North, South»; «South, East»; «West, North, South»; «South, West»})

and returns {1; #VALUE!; 7; #VALUE!}.

Step 2 — Check if value in array is an error

The ISNUMBER function checks if a value is a number, returns TRUE or FALSE.

ISNUMBER(SEARCH(E3, B3:B6))

becomes

ISNUMBER({1; #VALUE!; 7; #VALUE!})

and returns {TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; FALSE}.

Step 3 — Multiply corresponding numbers

The asterisk lets you multiply numbers in an Excel formula. We are multiplying boolean values in this example.

ISNUMBER(SEARCH(E3, B3:B6))*C3:C6

becomes

{TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; FALSE}*{10; 15; 6; 2}

TRUE equals 1 and FALSE equals 0 (zero).

{TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; FALSE}*{10; 15; 6; 2}

and returns {10; 0; 6; 0}.

Step 4 — Sum numbers

The SUM function adds numbers and returns a total.

SUM(ISNUMBER(SEARCH(E3, B3:B6))*C3:C6)

becomes

SUM({10; 0; 6; 0})

and returns 16 in cell F3.

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5. If cell contains text add 1

The formula in cell C3 counts cells containing the given text string in cell E3.

Formula in cell C3:

=IF(COUNTIF(B3,»*»&$E$3&»*»),1+MAX($C$2:C2),»»)

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5.1 Explaining formula in cell C3

Step 1 — Concatenate strings

The asterisk is a wildcard character that matches 0 (zero) to any number of characters. The ampersand character concatenates strings in an Excel formula.

«*»&$E$3&»*»

becomes

«*»&»North»&»*»

and returns «*North*».

Step 2 — Check if cell contains given string

The COUNTIF function calculates the number of cells that is equal to a condition.

COUNTIF(range, criteria)

COUNTIF(B3,»*»&$E$3&»*»)

becomes

COUNTIF(«North, South», «*North*»)

and returns 1.

Step 3 — Calculate count

The MAX function returns the largest number from a cell range or array.

Reference $C$2:C2 contains both absolute and relative cell references which makes it grow when the cell is copied to cells below.

1+MAX($C$2:C2)

becomes

1+0

and returns 1.

Step 4 — Show count if corresponding cell contains given string

The IF function returns one value if the logical test is TRUE and another value if the logical test is FALSE.

IF(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false])

IF(COUNTIF(B3,»*»&$E$3&»*»),1+MAX($C$2:C2),»»)

becomes

IF(C1,1+MAX($C$2:C2),»»)

becomes

IF(C1, 1, «»)

and returns 1.

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6. Get Excel *.xlsx file

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To check if a cell contains specific text, use ISNUMBER and SEARCH in Excel. There’s no CONTAINS function in Excel.

1. To find the position of a substring in a text string, use the SEARCH function.

Explanation: «duck» found at position 10, «donkey» found at position 1, cell A4 does not contain the word «horse» and «goat» found at position 12.

2. Add the ISNUMBER function. The ISNUMBER function returns TRUE if a cell contains a number, and FALSE if not.

Explanation: cell A2 contains the word «duck», cell A3 contains the word «donkey», cell A4 does not contain the word «horse» and cell A5 contains the word «goat».

3. You can also check if a cell contains specific text, without displaying the substring. Make sure to enclose the substring in double quotation marks.

4. To perform a case-sensitive search, replace the SEARCH function with the FIND function.

Explanation: the formula in cell C3 returns FALSE now. Cell A3 does not contain the word «donkey» but contains the word «Donkey».

5. Add the IF function. The formula below (case-insensitive) returns «Found» if a cell contains specific text, and «Not Found» if not.

6. You can also use IF and COUNTIF in Excel to check if a cell contains specific text. However, the COUNTIF function is always case-insensitive.

Explanation: the formula in cell C2 reduces to =IF(COUNTIF(A2,»*duck*»),»Found»,»Not Found»). An asterisk (*) matches a series of zero or more characters. Visit our page about the COUNTIF function to learn all you need to know about this powerful function.