Excel partial text match from list To check if a cell contains a partial text in Excel, you need to create a formula, with the help of IF, COUNTIF, and wildcard characters. However, see below for a case-sensitive option. Sep 25, 2013 · This is a guest tutorial written by Ruthie Ward of Idaho, USA. Arun and Edil wanted to know how to filter a column for a partial match to any item in the filter list. ). In this tutorial, I will show you how to compare text in Excel using simple arithmetic operators or the EXACT function. Thanks. Check If a Cell contains Partial Text Match Anywhere Below, I have a data set where I have product IDs in column A, and I want to check whether the product ID contains the string “ABK” or not. I am trying to find whether the authors in Column A has a match on my list of names in Column B Feb 8, 2023 · Partial Match VLOOKUP (Text Contains) By using the asterisk “wildcard” (*), within a VLOOKUP, we can lookup values that contain (partial match) certain text, instead of values that match the lookup text exactly. Formula examples for exact match, partial match and filtered cells. Sep 13, 2023 · How to use Substring functions in Excel to extract text from cell, get a substring before or after a specific character, find cells containing part of a string (partial match), and more. In the example shown, the formula in E8 is: Jul 4, 2023 · So, a: lookup a partial match and b: look up the price from the table for that match. In my example today, I want to color cells for any Part Numbers that begin with a particular list of characters. Jan 17, 2013 · What I would prefer is to have a master table (like a vlookup) on sheet 2 where column A is the list of partial text matches and column B is the product category to be returned if that the partial text in sheet 2 column A is found in the query list on sheet 1 column A. You can use a formula to search, find, and apply formatting based on a partial match against a list of data. In the example shown, XLOOKUP is configured to match the value entered in cell E5, which may appear anywhere in the lookup values in B5:B15. Excel built in functions like IF, VLOOKUP, INDEX, MATCH, AGGREGATE were used. Once done this will bring you to the power query editor again where you can expand your the columns by clicking on the arrow icon in the header. Jun 11, 2021 · Excel formula. Dec 24, 2023 · Explore 5 effective methods to vlookup partial match to return multiple values in Excel and apply them in data analysis scenarios. Nov 8, 2024 · Learn how to use XLOOKUP to match text values with the help of the 5th argument, wildcard character match mode. Learn how to use the COUNTIF function in Excel for partial matching, including wildcard characters, with helpful examples and explanations. Download our practice workbook, modify data, find new outputs and exercise! Sep 27, 2024 · Master Excel formula for partial matches using VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, Filter and more Examples. With a bit of creativity, you will learn in this article how to perform “Begins With”, “Ends With”, “Contains”, and “Does Not Contain” search criteria, so that you can carry out more complex filtering with your dynamic array formulas. Sep 12, 2019 · I want to match partial values from row D in row A. Feb 3, 2025 · Partial match for multiple strings - AND logic - returns all matches (Excel 365) The following formula extracts values from cell range B3:B13 if both strings are found in a cell, in other words, a partial match for both conditions. In case you'd like to look for a partial match in the IF formula (Excel IF function with text containing another word), you can't use an asterisk sign just like you would in the SUMIFS or COUNTIFS Nov 18, 2024 · VLOOKUP is a powerful Excel function that helps users find data in a table or range. May 14, 2024 · To perform a partial (wildcard) match against numbers, you can use an array formula based on the MATCH function and the TEXT function. Master flexible conditional logic Aug 9, 2012 · It does work, but only in cases where the entire cell matches the list of keywords. e. I have been trying to use =COUNTIF(B:B,"*"&A1&"*")>0 But this function only catch Ken UY in A2, but not John MF in A1 Is there a function that can catch all the partial match despite space and commas in between. I would like to get an array of all of the words from column B that (partially) match the cell in column A. Dec 30, 2023 · Find Partial Match in Two Columns with INDEX and MATCH Functions in Excel INDEX and MATCH functions allow us to find specific information in one column and then get related data from another column, even when the match is only a partial one. Vlookup Partial Match in Excel Notes You can do partial lookup matches with text without all of the issues show here; this tutorial is specific to partial lookups on numbers. The remaining examples show formulas that check if a cell contains text and also identify which text the cell contains. Using the functions SEARCH (not case-insensitive) and ISNUMBER (did I find a match?) in combination with an IF statement, I Feb 20, 2025 · Wrangling inconsistent data in Excel to find partial matches is a common but often frustrating task. Feb 9, 2024 · MATCH is an Excel function used to locate the position of a lookup value in a row, column, or table. But once you learn these simple rules, they’ll become more manageable. Find out how to use wildcard characters to aid the search. Jan 26, 2022 · This tutorial explains how to check if a cell contains text from a list in Excel, including an example. May 9, 2024 · 9 ways to combine excel INDEX-MATCH if cell contains text. Parameters: Cannot use INDIRECT, as this is not scalable and will break if d Dec 8, 2022 · Hi, I'm having an issue with partial matching text in the lookup cell of my X lookup The solution is to use the SEARCH and ISNUMBER functions. the cell that contains text you are looking for) you can use the MATCH function with wildcards. This combination of functions works perfectly. Select fuzzy matching with 0. Oct 9, 2025 · Learn how to use XLOOKUP for partial matches in Excel with wildcards, examples, and step-by-step formulas to find flexible text or code matches easily. For this, you can use Excel’s SUMIF function. It’s efficient for flagging matches using boolean logic. I'm trying to build a budget sheet that recognises partial text in a column and returns a category. Sep 6, 2018 · Challenge: To have a formula (most likely an array formula) that will return multiple partial matches from a column/row. Download our Excel workbook, modify data & find new results with formulas. Jan 27, 2022 · I am trying to get "Okay" if any cell in my sheet Information $46:$46 matches text that is listed on another sheet in Lists D6:D17. Method 1: Check if cell value contains text from list (partial match) and return TRUE or FALSE This first method is actually the most important method to understand because it’s building block for methods #2 and #3 where we want to return another column from the lookup list. This is an array formula and must be entered with Control Jun 29, 2021 · In this article, we've discussed 5 different methods to return value if cell contains text from list in Excel. Includes downloadable file! Apr 5, 2023 · =FILTER (data,ISNUMBER (SEARCH (search,data))) To extract all matches based on a partial match, you can use a formula based on the INDEX and AGGREGATE functions, with support from ISNUMBER and SEARCH. In this example, we'll find someone's email address based on the first characters of their name: Jul 22, 2013 · Hi! I'm trying to find if a cell contains a partial text match to a list of text values in a range of cells. The result is 7 since the number in B11 (the seventh row in data) contains 99. Note that SUMIFS is not case-sensitive. You can use this combination inside the FILTER function to find partial matches to check if a specific text is included inside other text. Guide to VLOOKUP Partial Match. 7} and type in the number of results per entry matched. MATCH supports approximate and exact matching, and wildcards (* ?) for partial matches. Wildcard characters help you define the partial text, then COUNTIF checks for partial value, and IF returns the result according to that. By using the INDEX and MATCH functions together, the user can search for a specific value that partially matches the data in a range and retrieve the corresponding information from another range. Use these methods to solve your problem. I also wanted to know the number of possible matches before I filtered the list. As is the case in this example to return the employees on leave on a given date. The FILTER function La FILTER function of Excel is one of the most used functions. This tutorial will walk through the process of finding partial matches using wildcards. I wanted to find a partial match to a text string in a long list of words without having to scroll down and look at each one. Whether you're trying to reconcile an address list, match company names, or link product variations, simple VLOOKUPs often fail when text isn't a perfect one-to-one match. In this tutorial, we will learn to sum values if a cell contains a specific text. This is particularly useful when dealing with large datasets that contain partial or inconsistent entries. My first point of action was to highlight a cell if it contains partial text from another column. This technique enhances our ability to How to use the MATCH function in Excel to search for a specified item in a range of cells, returning the relative position of that item in the range. Apr 5, 2023 · To use select records from a set of data based on a partial match, you can use the FILTER function with the SEARCH function. Nov 28, 2018 · Easily sum cells containing specific text for a partial match in Excel using the SUMIF or SUMIFS function with a wildcard. There will also be solutions covering case sensitivity. Contains and elseif statements, but given number of columns and keywords that is time consuming to type up. Aug 3, 2024 · This article describes 2 ways to use index match with multiple criteria for partial text in Excel. Find partial text in column and return cell value from row Ask Question Asked 4 years, 5 months ago Modified 1 year, 2 months ago Jun 8, 2017 · Reverse Partial Match Lookup A few great questions came in from last week's post on 2 ways to filter for a list of multiple items. So looks in the 1st column, searches a list (3rd column) and returns the category from the 4th to the second column. (Which would be a last name assuming D1 is the title of the column) - The "*"& part on either side of D2 searches for the partial string. Final result for partial match with VLOOKUP Formula using VLOOKUP Working formula: =VLOOKUP(H$2&"*",B:E,1,FALSE) Vlookup is used when we want to retrieve Jan 12, 2024 · This tutorial explains how to find partial matches between two columns in Excel, including an example. g. Figure 1. Jul 3, 2024 · Partial match string in excel is done by using the VLOOKUP, the XLOOKUP , the INDEX MATCH combo , IF OR, IF ISNUMBER SEARCH combo functions. Use Excel 365 functions To create a drop-down menu with partial entry, we will need the FILTER function. I found the Apr 23, 2024 · The article shows how to find excel partial match two columns. As far as I can understand it, INDEX and MATCH, or XLOOKUP can look up a single value (with a wildcard) in a list of values, but I want to do it the other way around. Often, MATCH is combined with the INDEX function to retrieve a value at a matched position. Contains function to check for a partial match (which I believe it should from what I understand). Also in your example item 1 of first list matched item 1 of second list and so on for items 2 and 3. In this article, we’ll explore how to use VLOOKUP to search for part This article will describe the technique for performing a partial search with Excel's FILTER function. Jul 21, 2025 · Unlock Excel's IF Cell Contains power! Get 25 real-world formulas & examples to check for partial text, multiple words, numbers, & more. Aug 14, 2019 · I have two columns in Excel. May 13, 2025 · Learn how to use a powerful LAMBDA function, TEXTMATCH, to check if a cell contains specific text (exact match or partial). Feb 20, 2025 · Discover how to find partial duplicates in Excel with simple formulas and powerful tools. When there is a match it should return the value from D. Looking for an alternative to show partial matches as well (e. 🔥 Are you trying to learn Microsoft Excel on YouTube? That's the slow way Learn Excel the FAST way, find out how here 👉 https://www. Learn how to count exact and partial matches using COUNTIF with detailed examples to enhance your data analysis. Jun 11, 2024 · This article will illustrate the different 9 ways for conditional formatting partial text match in Excel effectively. Jun 28, 2024 · There are several built-in functions in Excel to create a formula to check if cell contains specific text within it. The formula in F5 is: = XLOOKUP ("*" & E5 & "*", code, quantity,"no match",2) // returns 50 lookup_value - E5 Jun 3, 2021 · To retrieve information from a table based on a partial match, you can use the VLOOKUP function in exact match mode with a wildcard. This article demonstrates different formulas for different Excel versions. Aug 4, 2023 · Conclusion In conclusion, the formula "=INDEX (D3:D11, MATCH (A5&"*", D3:D11, 0))" provides a practical solution for performing partial string matching in Excel. Dec 17, 2024 · Master the Excel COUNTIF function with this comprehensive guide. Feb 2, 2024 · Excel XLOOKUP function - syntax and uses The XLOOKUP function in Excel searches a range or an array for a specified value and returns the related value from another column. Apr 30, 2024 · 5 suitable methods to lookup partial text match in Excel. Jan 30, 2025 · This article demonstrates several techniques to check if a cell contains text based on a list. Mar 14, 2023 · The tutorial shows how to make Excel IF statement with wildcard text and get it to work for partial matches. I have words that can have multiple partial matches (for example 'summer dress' and 'dress' are both partial match for 'XXL Summer dress') I thought I'd order row D from most characters to least to get the best match. In the example shown, the formula in H7 is: =VLOOKUP(value&"*",data,2,FALSE) where value (H4) and data (B5:E104) are named ranges. If the second list contains names not in the first list. Feb 10, 2021 · Conditional Formatting for Partial Matches Let's say you have a list of items and you want to highlight the ones that start with a certain character or series of characters. Here we have a list of names and want to find a name that contains “ake”. The format of the prefix is two strings appended by an underscore, and the suffix is added Jul 5, 2024 · How to use the VLOOKUP function with partial text from a single cell in Excel. VLOOKUP partial match in Excel In Excel, use VLOOKUP with a partial match to find a string value that contains a certain criteria. Are you just matching against the corresponding row in the second list or against the whole list? Find a partial match in Excel with VLOOKUP In performing a partial match with VLOOKUP, we make use of the wildcard character asterisk “*”. Use the VLOOKUP function to search for a partial match. For instance, we have a large array of values and we need to extract all the values matching the string. Master data reconciliation and find duplicates efficiently today. "ALD" and "LID" are found starting in position 1 of "ALDI" and "LIDL", respectively. It allows you to return as many values as correspond to a selection criterion. "the" would find there, their, them, etc. This guide will show you how to conquer this challenge by using Excel's built-in tools and how you can use ChatGPT to Jan 3, 2018 · Here's how to efficiently perform partial match using VLOOKUP in Excel! Learn how to retrieve specific data based on partial criteria. Jul 28, 2018 · ALDI and LIDL return GROCERIES because the LOOKUP function is returning a 1 - but that '1' is from the position of the partial match in the string, not the position of the array returned by the SEARCH function. Feb 12, 2025 · Learn how to match text in Excel with simple formulas and powerful lookup functions. Nov 10, 2020 · This excel formula will check for partial text in Excel cells and returns what you need! Check if cell contains partial text or part of text. Jan 11, 2024 · Excel table search funcion that looks for partial string match Asked 1 year, 10 months ago Modified 1 year, 10 months ago Viewed 1k times. Learn to master partial match lookups in Excel with our step-by-step guide for efficient data analysis and organization. I will also cover how you can compare text in two columns to find out the missing text entries. Nov 3, 2022 · Column A contains a list of product names (like "basil 5kg package" and "pineapple frozen 2kg") and column B contains a list of generic names (like "basil" and "pineapple"). Oct 26, 2022 · I'm trying to use the Text. Select the listing on top and the reference list in the bottom. Apr 19, 2024 · Learn 5 super easy methods to check if a cell contains partial text in Excel. Any ideas? I known I can create a conditional column with various Text. Nov 13, 2023 · Your learning today comprises checking cells for partial text using the SEARCH, COUNTIF, and MATCH functions along with other functions to control the outcome. Feb 15, 2016 · For example you need to say if the first list contains names that are not in the second list. Jun 13, 2018 · To get the position of the first partial match (i. excel-university. 9 match {don't go below 0. Jun 3, 2024 · Learn to use wildcards in Excel's IF Function for partial text matches, making it easy to check if a cell contains a specific word. The problem is that when you do a partial lookup, Excel will always be searching for text, even if you enter a number; and Excel won't be able to find text in a list of May 6, 2022 · Learn how you can use VLOOKUP to perform a partial string match lookup in Microsoft Excel. In the example shown, the formula in cell F5 is: =SUMIFS(C5:C16,B5:B16,"*hoodie*") This formula sums the quantity in column C when the text in column B contains "hoodie". I'm trying to avoid using nested IFs or using a static if statement or cleaning the data first. Table 1 column C contains a longer string containing some partial keywords that I want to be able to lookup. In the example shown, the formula in E6 is: =MATCH ("*"&E5&"*",TEXT (data,"0"),0) where data is the named range B5:B15. com Dec 16, 2022 · To sum if cells contain specific text, you can use the SUMIFS or SUMIF function with a wildcard. Aug 19, 2025 · Learn how to look up partial text matches in Excel using VLOOKUP with wildcards, INDEX & MATCH combo, and IF for conditional results. While VLOOKUP is commonly used for exact or approximate matches, there are times when you need to search for part of a cell’s text. To illustrate how to create a drop-down list with autocomplete, we will start from this document and integrate it into a Table (named tbl_Clients). We want to see if the cell in the data list contains ANY of the words in the filter list. Excel file is freely available to download for you. Learn more now! In this article, we will learn about how to extract all partial matches in an array of values in Excel. Jun 8, 2015 · The match function will search for the partial string in cell D2. Here we learn how partial match in VLOOKUP() works, along with examples and a downloadable excel template. In the example shown, the formula in G7 is: =FILTER (Table1,ISNUMBER (SEARCH (H4,Table1 [Last]))* (H4""),"No results") where Table1 is an Excel Table that contains 100 rows of data in B5:E104. May 21, 2024 · Learn different ways to search with partial match by INDEX and MATCH functions in Excel with relevant examples and explanations step by step. Let’s walk through an example. My Formula works if the cells in Information only contain that value that is mentioned, the problem I now have is that the cells in Information sometimes contain multiple values Jan 30, 2024 · In cell A1 I want a formula that would search column C for a partial match with any text currently in B1 So B1 shows car and one of the cells in column C contains Car Allowance this should return into cell A1 Feb 20, 2025 · Discover how to find partial matches in Excel with four effective methods. May 1, 2025 · Learn Excel lookup techniques to find partial text matches easily using functions like VLOOKUP, INDEX-MATCH, and wildcards, making data search and retrieval efficient with approximate matching and fuzzy lookup methods. Oct 3, 2023 · This tutorial explains how to apply conditional formatting to cells that contain partial text in Excel, including an example. In my example, I have a Name column, and I want to check for "ABC" in that column. Hi, I am trying to search for partial matches out of a column of search terms, then if a match is found, return a value from the cell beside the partial match. Oct 23, 2023 · The XLOOKUP function contains built-in support for wildcards, but this feature must be enabled explicitly by setting match mode to the number 2. This function is only accessible with versions of Microsoft 365 or Excel Online. Jun 12, 2024 · learn different ways to find elements with partial match by VLOOKUP function in Excel with relevant examples and explanations step by step. Mar 25, 2019 · How do I find the partial match to return true/false. Do a partial search with the FILTER function To do Aug 14, 2024 · Use the IF function in Excel along with some other built-in functions like, COUNTIF, SEARCH to perform partial match operations. The first example shows how to check if text in the list is in the cell. Jul 25, 2024 · In this article, we've discussed 3 methods to use the SUMIF function for the partial match in Excel. Aug 16, 2025 · 1 Match Text from a List with SEARCH, ISNUMBER and OR Functions (Excel 365) This method uses Excel 365’s dynamic arrays to check if any keyword in a list exists within a given cell. For example, Let's say cell a1 contains a really long text-value: A1 ="If horse-racing is the sport of kings then surely bowling is a… very good sport as well" Mar 14, 2023 · The tutorial shows how to count the number of cells with specific text in Excel. Table 2 column B contains a number, intended to categorize the partial keywords into groups. Nov 9, 2023 · Do you need to match part of a string in your spreadsheets? Learn how to check for partial matches in Excel in this guide. It can look up both vertically and horizontally and perform an exact match (default), approximate (closest) match, or wildcard (partial) match. This guide will explain the asterisk wildcard. Table 2 column A contains the partial keywords. Nov 21, 2025 · Using the Excel IF contains partial text searches can be intimidating. You can download the sample workbook. Clean your data and ensure accurate reports today. Aug 23, 2022 · Unfortunately, Excel’s Filter function does not perform partial-match or wildcard searches. Learn simple formulas and advanced techniques to match similar text entries efficiently. Both columns have a list of string that are suffixed with a random character. tauamwsb pll llw puma jva dnu lyik hcek uacifv oatdes cfn spj krm uxlx hxidjam