How to do a condition in excel

The logical IF statement in Excel is used for the recording of certain conditions. It compares the number and / or text, function, etc. of the formula when the values correspond to the set parameters, and then there is one record, when do not respond — another.

Logic functions — it is a very simple and effective tool that is often used in practice. Let us consider it in details by examples.



The syntax of the function «IF» with one condition

The operation syntax in Excel is the structure of the functions necessary for its operation data.

=IF(boolean;value_if_TRUE;value_if_FALSE)

Let us consider the function syntax:

• Boolean – what the operator checks (text or numeric data cell).
• Value_if_TRUE – what will appear in the cell when the text or numbers correspond to a predetermined condition (true).
• Value_if_FALSE – what appears in the box when the text or the number does not meet the predetermined condition (false).

Example:

Logical IF functions.

The operator checks the A1 cell and compares it to 20. This is a «Boolean». When the contents of the column is more than 20, there is a true legend «greater 20». In the other case it’s «less or equal 20».

Attention! The words in the formula need to be quoted. For Excel to understand that you want to display text values.

Here is one more example. To gain admission to the exam, a group of students must successfully pass a test. The results are listed in a table with columns: a list of students, a credit, an exam.

The statement IF should check not the digital data type but the text. Therefore, we prescribed in the formula В2= «done» We take the quotes for the program to recognize the text correctly.



The function IF in Excel with multiple conditions

Usually one condition for the logic function is not enough. If you need to consider several options for decision-making, spread operators’ IF into each other. Thus, we get several functions IF in Excel.

The syntax is as follows:

Here the operator checks the two parameters. If the first condition is true, the formula returns the first argument is the truth. False — the operator checks the second condition.

Examples of a few conditions of the function IF in Excel:

It’s a table for the analysis of the progress. The student received 5 points:

• А – excellent;
• В – above average or superior work;
• C – satisfactory;
• D – a passing grade;
• E – completely unsatisfactory.

IF statement checks two conditions: the equality of value in the cells.

In this example, we have added a third condition, which implies the presence of another report card and «twos». The principle of the operator is the same.

Enhanced functionality with the help of the operators «AND» and «OR»

When you need to check out a few of the true conditions you use the function И. The point is: IF A = 1 AND A = 2 THEN meaning в ELSE meaning с.

OR function checks the condition 1 or condition 2. As soon as at least one condition is true, the result is true. The point is: IF A = 1 OR A = 2 THEN value B ELSE value C.

Functions AND & OR can check up to 30 conditions.

An example of using the operator AND:

It’s the example of using the logical operator OR.

How to compare data in two tables

Users often need to compare the two spreadsheets in an Excel to match. Examples of the «life»: compare the prices of goods in different bringing, to compare balances (accounting reports) in a few months, the progress of pupils (students) of different classes, in different quarters, etc.

To compare the two tables in Excel, you can use the COUNTIFS statement. Consider the order of application functions.

For example, consider the two tables with the specifications of various food processors. We planned allocation of color differences. This problem in Excel solves the conditional formatting.

Baseline data (tables, which will work with):

Select the first table. Conditional Formatting — create a rule — use a formula to determine the formatted cells:

In the formula bar write: = COUNTIFS (comparable range; first cell of first table)=0. Comparing range is in the second table.

To drive the formula into the range, just select it first cell and the last. «= 0» means the search for the exact command (not approximate) values.

Choose the format and establish what changes in the cell formula in compliance. It’s better to do a color fill.

Select the second table. Conditional Formatting — create a rule — use the formula. Use the same operator (COUNTIFS). For the second table formula:

Download all examples in Excel

Now it is easy to compare the characteristics of the data in the table.

The IF function runs a logical test and returns one value for a TRUE result, and another value for a FALSE result. The result from IF can be a value, a cell reference, or even another formula. By combining the IF function with other logical functions like AND and OR, you can test more than one condition at a time.

Syntax

The generic syntax for the IF function looks like this:

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

The first argument, logical_test, is typically an expression that returns either TRUE or FALSE. The second argument, value_if_true, is the value to return when logical_test is TRUE. The last argument, value_if_false, is the value to return when logical_test is FALSE. Both value_if_true and value_if_false are optional, but you must provide one or the other. For example, if cell A1 contains 80, then:

=IF(A1>75,TRUE) // returns TRUE
=IF(A1>75,"OK") // returns "OK"
=IF(A1>85,"OK") // returns FALSE
=IF(A1>75,10,0) // returns 10
=IF(A1>85,10,0) // returns 0
=IF(A1>75,"Yes","No") // returns "Yes"
=IF(A1>85,"Yes","No") // returns "No"

Notice that text values like «OK», «Yes», «No», etc. must be enclosed in double quotes («»). However, numeric values should not be enclosed in quotes.

Logical tests

The IF function supports logical operators (>,<,<>,=) when creating logical tests. Most commonly, the logical_test in IF is a complete logical expression that will evaluate to TRUE or FALSE. The table below shows some common examples:

Notice text values must be enclosed in double quotes («»), but numbers do not. The IF function does not support wildcards, but you can combine IF with COUNTIF to get basic wildcard functionality. To test for substrings in a cell, you can use the IF function with the SEARCH function.

Pass or Fail example

In the worksheet shown above, we want to assign either «Pass» or «Fail» based on a test score. A passing score is 70 or higher. The formula in D6, copied down, is:

=IF(C5>=70,"Pass","Fail")

Translation: If the value in C5 is greater than or equal to 70, return «Pass». Otherwise, return «Fail».

Note that the logical flow of this formula can be reversed. This formula returns the same result:

=IF(C5<70,"Fail","Pass")

Translation: If the value in C5 is less than 70, return «Fail». Otherwise, return «Pass».

Both formulas above, when copied down, will return correct results.

Note: If you are new to the idea of formula criteria, this article explains many examples.

Assign points based on color

In the worksheet below, we want to assign points based on the color in column B. If the color is «red», the result should be 100. If the color is «blue», the result should be 125. This requires that we use a formula based on two IF functions, one nested inside the other. The formula in C5, copied down, is:

=IF(B5="red",100,IF(B5="blue",125))

Translation: IF the value in B5 is «red», return 100. Else, if the value in B5 is «blue», return 125.

There are three things to notice in this example:

1. The formula will return FALSE if the value in B5 is anything except «red» or «blue»
2. The text values «red» and «blue» must be enclosed in double quotes («»)
3. The IF function is not case-sensitive and will match «red», «Red», «RED», or «rEd».

This is a simple example of a nested IFs formula. See below for a more complex example.

Return another formula

The IF function can return another formula as a result. For example, the formula below will return A1*5% when A1 is less than 100, and A1*7% when A1 is greater than or equal to 100:

=IF(A1<100,A1*5%,A1*7%)

Nested IF statements

The IF function can be «nested». A «nested IF» refers to a formula where at least one IF function is nested inside another in order to test for more conditions and return more possible results. Each IF statement needs to be carefully «nested» inside another so that the logic is correct. For example, the following formula can be used to assign a grade rather than a pass / fail result:

=IF(C6<70,"F",IF(C6<75,"D",IF(C6<85,"C",IF(C6<95,"B","A"))))

Up to 64 IF functions can be nested. However, in general, you should consider other functions, like VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP for more complex scenarios, because they can handle more conditions in a more streamlined fashion. For a more details see this article on nested IFs.

Note: the newer IFS function is designed to handle multiple conditions without nesting. However, a lookup function like VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP is usually a better approach unless the logic for each condition is custom.

IF with AND, OR, NOT

The IF function can be combined with the AND function and the OR function. For example, to return «OK» when A1 is between 7 and 10, you can use a formula like this:

=IF(AND(A1>7,A1<10),"OK","")

Translation: if A1 is greater than 7 and less than 10, return «OK». Otherwise, return nothing («»).

To return B1+10 when A1 is «red» or «blue» you can use the OR function like this:

=IF(OR(A1="red",A1="blue"),B1+10,B1)

Translation: if A1 is red or blue, return B1+10, otherwise return B1.

=IF(NOT(A1="red"),B1+10,B1)

Translation: if A1 is NOT red, return B1+10, otherwise return B1.

IF cell contains specific text

Because the IF function does not support wildcards, it is not obvious how to configure IF to check for a specific substring in a cell. A common approach is to combine the ISNUMBER function and the SEARCH function to create a logical test like this:

=ISNUMBER(SEARCH(substring,A1)) // returns TRUE or FALSE

For example, to check for the substring «xyz» in cell A1, you can use a formula like this:

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("xyz",A1)),"Yes","No")

Read a detailed explanation here.

More information

• Read more about nested IFs
• Learn how to use VLOOKUP instead of nested IFs (video)
• 50 Examples of formula criteria

Notes

• The IF function is not case-sensitive.
• To count values conditionally, use the COUNTIF or the COUNTIFS functions.
• To sum values conditionally, use the SUMIF or the SUMIFS functions.
• If any of the arguments to IF are supplied as arrays, the IF function will evaluate every element of the array.

This article explains how to use the IF-THEN function in Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010; Excel for Mac, and Excel Online, as well as a few examples.

Inputting IF-THEN in Excel

The IF-THEN function in Excel is a powerful way to add decision making to your spreadsheets. It tests a condition to see if it’s true or false and then carries out a specific set of instructions based on the results.

For example, by inputting an IF-THEN in Excel, you can test if a specific cell is greater than 900. If it is, you can make the formula return the text «PERFECT.» If it isn’t, you can make the formula return «TOO SMALL.»

There are many conditions you can enter into the IF-THEN formula.

The IF-THEN function’s syntax includes the name of the function and the function arguments inside of the parenthesis.

This is the proper syntax of the IF-THEN function:

=IF(logic test,value if true,value if false)

The IF part of the function is the logic test. This is where you use comparison operators to compare two values.

The THEN part of the function comes after the first comma and includes two arguments separated by a comma.

• The first argument tells the function what to do if the comparison is true.
• The second argument tells the function what to do if the comparison is false.

A Simple IF-THEN Function Example

Before moving on to more complex calculations, let’s look at a straightforward example of an IF-THEN statement. 

Our spreadsheet is set up with cell B2 as $100. We can input the following formula into C2 to indicate whether the value is larger than $1000. 

=IF(B2>1000,"PERFECT","TOO SMALL")

This function has the following arguments:

• B2>1000 tests whether the value in cell B2 is larger than 1000.
• «PERFECT» returns the word PERFECT in cell C2 if B2 is larger than 1000.
• «TOO SMALL» returns the phrase TOO SMALL in cell C2 if B2 is not larger than 1000.

The comparison part of the function can compare only two values. Either of those two values can be:

• Fixed number
• A string of characters (text value)
• Date or time
• Functions that return any of the values above
• A reference to any other cell in the spreadsheet containing any of the above values

The TRUE or FALSE part of the function can also return any of the above. This means that you can make the IF-THEN function very advanced by embedding additional calculations or functions inside of it (see below).

Inputting Calculations Into the IF-THEN Function

You can embed different calculations for the IF-THEN function to perform, depending on the comparison results.

In this example, one calculation is used to calculate the tax owed, depending on the total income in B2.

The logic test compares total income in B2 to see if it’s greater than $50,000.00.

=IF(B2>50000,B2*0.15,B2*0.10)

In this example, B2 is not larger than 50,000, so the «value_if_false» condition will calculate and return that result.

In this case, that’s B2*0.10, which is 4000.

The result is placed into cell C2, where the IF-THEN function is inserted, will be 4000.

You can also embed calculations into the comparison side of the function.

For example, if you want to estimate that taxable income will only be 80% of total income, you could change the above IF-THEN function to the following.

=IF(B2*0.8>50000,B2*0.15,B2*0.10)

This will perform the calculation on B2 before comparing it to 50,000.

Nesting Functions Inside of an IF-THEN Function

You can also embed (or «nest») a function inside of an IF-THEN function.

This lets you perform advanced calculations and then compare the actual results to the expected results.

In this example, let’s say you have a spreadsheet with five students’ grades in column B. You could average those grades using the AVERAGE function. Depending on the class average results, you could have cell C2 return either «Excellent!» or «Needs Work.»

This is how you would input that IF-THEN function:

=IF(AVERAGE(B2:B6)>85,"Excellent!","Needs Work")

This function returns the text «Excellent!» in cell C2 if the class average is over 85. Otherwise, it returns «Needs Work.»

As you can see, inputting the IF-THEN function in Excel with embedded calculations or functions allows you to create dynamic and highly functional spreadsheets.

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