Excel MATCH character limit - excel

I use the following formula =INDEX(Dict!A:A,MATCH(A2,Dict!A:A,0),1) but MATCH only works with text below 256 characters. Any way to overcome this limitiation?

To accommodate partial matches use SEARCH like this:
=INDEX(Dict!A:A,MATCH(TRUE,INDEX(ISNUMBER(SEARCH(A2,Dict!A:A)),0),0))
That will work to return a value > 256 characters but A2 can't be > 256 characters

You can use the LDMP look-up method, taking advantage of the concat formula available since the Excel 2016.
={CONCAT(IF(Value=A:A;B:B;"")}
Note that it is a matrix formula so you must enter it CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER.
Additionally the formula returns not only the first value but all the matching values.

There is another way to do this, if you don't mind the messiness of a helper column, and your original formula is not being repeated in subsequent rows (i.e. matching cells A3, A4, A5...). The helper column can of course be hidden to keep DICT looking pretty.
Insert (or use) a column (say B:B) next to A:A in DICT!, and populate it with a simple formula "=A1=SHEET1!A$2" (SHEET1 being the name of your source/original sheet), which will populate the column with TRUE and FALSE values, indicating which rows (if any) in DICT match to A2.
The match syntax then changes from "MATCH(A2,Dict!A:A,0)" to "MATCH(TRUE,Dict!B:B,0)".
Note: I know this works in principle as I have just done it, but if I added a typo in retrofitting it to the example provided, apologies, however the principle should be easy to follow.

Related

Excel: dynamically calculate range next to a searched up cell

I am an occasional Excel user and stuck how to create a dynamic range.
After looking up a text in a table, how can I calculate the range next to this cell, up to the next empty row? Not using VBA.
Thanks for your help.
In H4, formula copied down :
=IFERROR(INDEX(INDEX(C:C,MATCH(F4,A:A,0)):C$1000,MATCH(G4,INDEX(B:B,MATCH(F4,A:A,0)):B$1000,0)),"")
Should you want a dynamic range,
Change C$1000 to INDEX(C:C,MATCH(9.9E+307,B:B)
and
Change B$1000 to INDEX(B:B,MATCH(9.9E+307,B:B))
Then
The H4 copied down formula become :
=IFERROR(INDEX(INDEX(C:C,MATCH(F4,A:A,0)):INDEX(C:C,MATCH(9.9E+307,B:B)),MATCH(G4,INDEX(B:B,MATCH(F4,A:A,0)):INDEX(B:B,MATCH(9.9E+307,B:B)),0)),"")
Edit :
As per Ron Rosenfeld's comment, "should B11 change to 24 and G4 change to 24"
The "Source Table" set up in Excel Table type for dynamic range growing purpose
and
The H4 formula change to :
=IFERROR(LOOKUP(9^9,Table1[price]/(LOOKUP(ROW(Table1[texture]),ROW(Table1[texture])/(Table1[texture]<>""),Table1[texture])=F4)/(Table1[length]=G4)),"")
Combining the Index() and Match() functions usually works well when using two conditions. However, you will need to fill out the entire column A with the "texture" list in order for the below formula to work.
=INDEX(<P1>, MATCH(TRUE, (<T1>=<T2>) + (<L1>=<L2>) > 1,0))
Where <P1> is your entire price column (ex. C2:C15)
Where <T1> is your entire texture column (ex. A2:A15)
Where <T2> is your texture lookup value cell
Where <L1> is your entire length column (ex. B2:B15)
Where <L2> is your length lookup value cell
Let's say that you input your texture value into cell F3, and your length value into cell F4. With the remaining columns remaining as they are in your image, you would use the following formula:
=INDEX(C2:C15, MATCH(TRUE, (A2:A15=F3) + (B2:B15=F4) > 1,0))
Now last time I had to use Index/Match I thought I had to place the formula into an array. However, the above seems to work without it.
If you notice that it's not working as expected, you can place into an array formula by clicking the cell that contains the formula, then clicking the formula box at the top. While in the formula box, simultaneously press Ctrl + Shift + Return. This should then place curly brackets around your entire formula if done properly, as such:
If you have O365 with the SEQUENCE function, you can use, for price:
=IF(G4="","",VLOOKUP(G4,INDEX($B:$C,SEQUENCE(MATCH(TRUE,ISBLANK(INDEX($B:$B,MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0)):INDEX(B:B,ROWS(B:B)-MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0))),0)-1,,MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0)),{1,2}),2,FALSE))
explanation:
get starting row:
MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0)
ending row will be the first blank row after the starting row:
MATCH(TRUE,ISBLANK(INDEX($B:$B,MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0)):INDEX(B:B,ROWS(B:B)-MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0))),0)
Construct the relevant array:
INDEX($B:$C,SEQUENCE(MATCH(TRUE,ISBLANK(INDEX($B:$B,MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0)):INDEX(B:B,ROWS(B:B)-MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0))),0)-1,,MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0)),{1,2})
The above might reduce (with wavy) to:
index(b:c,{9,10,11},{1,2}
Then it's just a matter of applying the VLOOKUP
A more understandable, but longer with more operations, formula available in O365 makes use of LET. The advantage is that one can use names which indicate what each section of the formula does.
For example:
=IF(G4="","",LET(startRow,MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0),numRows,MATCH(TRUE,ISBLANK(INDEX($B:$B,startRow):INDEX($B:$B,ROWS($B:$B)-startRow)),0)-1,
arr,INDEX($B:$C,SEQUENCE(numRows,,startRow),{1,2}),price,XLOOKUP(G4,INDEX(arr,0,1),INDEX(arr,0,2)),price))
Or, using VLOOKUP
=IF(G4="","",VLOOKUP(G4,LET(startRow,MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0),numRows,MATCH(TRUE,ISBLANK(INDEX($B:$B,startRow):INDEX($B:$B,ROWS($B:$B)-startRow)),0)-1,arr,INDEX($B:$C,SEQUENCE(numRows,,startRow),{1,2}),arr),2,FALSE))
Finally, for earlier versions of Excel, you can use this whopper where we replace the SEQUENCE function with a construct like: ROW(INDEX(A:A,firstRow):INDEX(A:A,lastRow))
=IF(G4="","",VLOOKUP(G4,INDEX($B:$C,ROW(INDEX($A:$A,MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0)):INDEX($A:$A,MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0)+MATCH(TRUE,INDEX($B:$B,MATCH(F4,$A:$A,0)):INDEX($B:$B,ROWS($B:$B))="",0)-2)),{1,2}),2,FALSE))

=ISNUMBER(SEARCH()) formula not working properly

Basically, im trying to search if values from column b is contained in cells on column a
I am currently using the formula
=ISNUMBER(SEARCH(B1,$A:$A))
and using it inside a conditional formatting to highlight the cells in column A that contains strings from column B. But it is not highlighting the correct cells
any advice?
Problem is that your ISNUMBER(SEARCH(…. formula is returning an array of values {FALSE;TRUE;FALSE;FALSE;...} one return for each item in within_text. You need to know if any of those items match.
So, with your formula, consider the array formula modification
=OR(ISNUMBER(SEARCH(B1,$A:$A)))
Since this is an array formula, you need to "confirm" it by holding down ctrl + shift while hitting enter. If you do this correctly, Excel will place braces {...} around the formula as observed in the formula bar
If you don't like to use the CSE entry method, you could use this formula which will return zero for no matches, or be non-zero for any matches:
=SUMPRODUCT(-ISNUMBER(SEARCH(B1,$A:$A)))
Excel's SEARCH function is used to find the position of one string within another string. Generally you use it like this:
=SEARCH("String A", "A Longer String Containing String A")
This will return the character index where first string starts within the second string, which in this case would be 28.
What you really need is a VLOOKUP. Since you're doing a textual search (substring), you need your range to be of text type instead of number.
You should do the following:
Add an extra column to the right of Column A and use TEXT function to convert entries to textual form:
=TEXT(A1, "#")
Now you can use VLOOKUP to perform a substring-match in this textual range. VLOOKUP supports wildcards when you do not ask it to perform an exact match (4th argument should be FALSE). Here is your formula then:
=VLOOKUP("*" & C1 & "*",$B:$B,1,FALSE)
Note that I have passed column B (textual column) as the lookup range, whereas C1 is the cell containing the text that you want to search.
This method also has the additional advantage that it returns the actual matched entry from the range so you don't have to find it manually.
Once you have your results, you can apply conditional formatting to it.
Highlight column A (or the relevant range in column A starting cell A1) with the first cell (which is A1 in this case) as the active cell, use the following formula as the conditional formatting rule:
=(SEARCH($B1,$A1)*(LEN($B1)>0))>0
The logic is to first search the given sub-string from the main string, then multiple the result by LEN($B1)>0 to exclude the result of 1 returned for blank cells in column B.
Note: Conditional Formatting works in array fashion so even though the formula only looks at values in the first row of the range, as long as you use the relative (or in some cases absolute) cell references correctly and highlight the result range correctly before setting up the rule, the rule will be applied across in the same way as for the first row of the array as demonstrated in this example.

How do I use INDEX MATCH to return multiple values?

I have a 2D matrix of binary values. I'd like to find all the 1's in a row, and return their respective header in the form of an array or comma delimited string in one cell.
I could do it in VBA, but for my knowledge I wanted to know if there was a handy way to do it in Excel.
Assuming your matrix is located at B6:F12 (adjust ranges in formula and arguments as required)
Enter this FormulaArray at G7 and copy till last record
(Enter the FormulaArray pressing [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [Enter] simultaneously, you shall see { } around the formula if entered correctly)
=TRIM(CONCATENATE(
IF($B7:$B12,$B$6,""),CHAR(32),
IF($C7:$C12,$C$6,""),CHAR(32),
IF($D7:$D12,$D$6,""),CHAR(32),
IF($E7:$E12,$E$6,""),CHAR(32),
IF($F7:$F12,$F$6,"")))
This formula concatenates the result of 5 fields separated by a blank space. You'll have to add one more argument per additional field.
This standard formula will also do the trick:
=TRIM(SUBSTITUTE(CONCATENATE(
IF($B7,", "&$B$6,""),
IF($C7,", "&$C$6,""),
IF($D7,", "&$D$6,""),
IF($E7,", "&$E$6,""),
IF($F7,", "&$F$6,"")),",","",1))
Both formulas will certainly become longer as the number of fields increases, however as the formula is quite repetitive an excel formula can be used to build it.

Looking up a value in a specified column

Something I've wanted to do quite a bit lately, and can't work out how to do, is MATCH in a column I pass as an argument. Essentially, I have a two dimensional array, and I want to be able to find the first occurrence of a given value in the nth column, for any given value of n, and return the row number it occurs at. Alternatively (and more-or-less equivalently), I want to be able to search in the column with a given column header. Is there any way to do this?
Effectively, I want to simulate the non-existent function =MATCH(lookup_value,lookup_array,lookup_column,[match_type])
I've kludged together a horrible bodge job using INDIRECT, which works, but offends me horribly.
=MATCH(lookup_value,INDIRECT("R"&<top of array>&"C"&<left of array>+<column reference>&":R"&<bottom of array>&"C"&<left of array>+<column reference>,FALSE),FALSE)
This formula should work for you and will avoid INDIRECT. Anytime you can avoid using Indirect, I recommend doing so.
=MATCH(lookup_value,INDEX(lookup_array,0,MATCH(lookup_header,array_headers,0)),0)
If you aren't looking up the column by column header and just have the column number, then it becomes easier:
=MATCH(lookup_value,INDEX(lookup_array,0,column_number),0)
You could do something like this:
Set findCell = ActiveSheet.Range("A:Z").Find(What:="term_to_search")
Will select a header based on your search term.
Set range = ActiveSheet.Range(findCell, findCell.Offset(DEF_MAX_ROWS, 0))
Set up a range which will search from that header down a whole column.
For column references beyond Z you might switch notation (Excel Options, Formulas, Working with formulas and check R1C1 reference style) and, assuming the value to be looked up is in 'A1' (R1C1) with the column number in 'A2' (R2C1) apply:
=MATCH(R1C1,INDIRECT("C"&R2C1,0),0)
to save some complexity in converting a string of two or three characters into the relevant column number.
Say we have a two dimensional array: B3:E17 and we wish to locate Happiness in the third column of that array.In G1 enter:
B3:E17
In G2 enter:
3
In G3 enter:
=ADDRESS(ROW(INDIRECT(G1)),COLUMN(INDIRECT(G1))+$G$2-1) & ":" & ADDRESS(ROW(INDIRECT(G1))+ROWS(INDIRECT(G1))-1,COLUMN(INDIRECT(G1))+$G$2-1)
This will display the address of that third column. Then in G4 enter:
=MATCH("Happiness",INDIRECT(G3),0)
For example:
You can specify a range in a formula using the INDIRECT function. So, for example, if you put the letter designation for the column you want to search in cell A75, you could use:
=MATCH("Value_To_Match", INDIRECT(A75 & ":" & A75), 0)
So, if the value in A75 is G, the string built up in the INDIRECT call is G:G, and the MATCH will look through column G for "Value_To_Match" and return the row number in which it's found.
Using this idea, you can put a formula into A75 that generates the column designation for the column you want to search. For example, if your column headers are all in row 1, and the header you want to search for is in A74, you can do:
=CHAR(MATCH(A74, 1:1, 0) + 64)
using the CHAR function to convert numbers into ASCII characters, so 65 becomes A, 66 becomes B, etc. Note that this will only work if you don't have columns past Z. You'd need a more fussy formula to do the right thing with AA, etc.
You can overcome the annoyances of dealing with column letters by using R1C1 notation instead, which you can activate by adding a second parameter of FALSE to the INDIRECT expression. Now, instead of specifying your column by a letter, you'll specify it using a number. This simplifies the column-finder in A75:
=MATCH(A74, 1:1, 0)
and also the INDIRECT expression in your overall MATCH:
=MATCH("Value_To_Match", INDIRECT("C" & A75, FALSE), 0)

SUMPRODUCT with SUMIF

I currently have this:
=SUMPRODUCT(SUMIF(A:A;Index(List;;1);B:B))
Column A is a list of names, column B is a list of values for each names. The named range List has 2 columns, the first one are names and the second one are boolean values (0 or 1).
My formula actually works to return the sum of every column B values of its corresponding name in the A column IF that name is in the first column of my named range List. It works fine.
However, I would like to filter that to only include names from List that have the boolean value equal to 1 (ie. Index(List;;2) = 1.
How is this possible?
This is what I tried but it gives me a #REF! error:
=SUMPRODUCT(SUMIF(A:A;Index(List;;1)*Index(List;;2);B:B))
Probably best to switch to an array formula**:
=SUM(SUMIF(A:A,IF(INDEX(List,,2),INDEX(List,,1)),B:B))
**Array formulas are not entered in the same way as 'standard' formulas. Instead of pressing just ENTER, you first hold down CTRL and SHIFT, and only then press ENTER. If you've done it correctly, you'll notice Excel puts curly brackets {} around the formula (though do not attempt to manually insert these yourself).
Since your Named Range consists of discontinous ranges, when INDEXing it you will need to include INDEX's 4th parameter (area_num) in order to clarify which of the ranges ($B$2:$B$100 or $L$2:$W$100) you wish to refer to, e.g.:
=INDEX(List,60,1,**2**)
which will return the value in cell L61.
Regards

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