Removing parts of a cell - excel

In Excel, how do I write a formula that will partially delete a cell (from a certain point onwards).
For example, if A1 is "23432 Vol 23432". I want B1 to just be "23432 " (everything from Vol onwards is removed). Thanks.

you cannot delete cells with formulas in Excel.
you can modify the content of a cell by using formulas. you may use LEFT(), RIGHT(), MID() and other similar string processing functions.
is there any rule about the number? If for example the number is always 5 digits long, you can return "23432" out of "23432 Vol 23432" by typing =LEFT(A1;5)
you might also want to look for the space. think the english equivalent for the german FINDEN-function is FIND(keyword;text;[first charindex]). if splitting by space, you find the number by =LEFT(A1;FIND(" ";A1))
please post detailed information about your problem if you need further assistance.
EDIT: you may also use VBA if your problem needs a custom formula or custom actions taken out on a cell.
EDIT2, SOLUTION:
=LEFT(A1;FIND(" Vol";A1))
is the solution to your problem, iff "Vol" and the rest needs to be removed in any case without condition. Remember that if you have any condition attached to this, you might nest this expression (without the '=' though) in a "IF()"-formula.
hope that helped you.
best regards

Related

Filter Cells as argument to a function in a formula

I am a programmer, so please bear with me. I understand that Excel isn't necessarily what I am used to in other domains, but I'm cracking my head open on how to accomplish something that seems somewhat simple.
I have a column of numbers that are themselves the basis of a formula. I want to filter those cells based on some criteria and pass them to another function to perform a calculation.
I understand that this can be done with "filters" in the excel sense. This would mean I would have to click multiple times for each calculation, filter the results, copy the value and paste it where I need it to be. If the data ever changes, I will have to do it all again.
What I am looking for is the equivalent of filtering in a programming language, here's an example:
let range = [1,2,3,4,0,-1,-2,-3,-4];
let subrange = range.filter(function (cell) { return cell > 0; });
subtotal(1,subrange);
So what my excel is like.
I have a column G, that has 12,000+ results in it, each one of these columns is like this:
=(En-Bn)/Bn
These are copied down, n means the row number from 5-12,000+
Now I would like to create a cell, M2 such that it contains:
=SUBTOTAL(1,[ Gn in G5:G12000 where Gn > 0 ])
The goal is that I do not want to have to point and click, because actually, there are many more cells I need to create (about 20) with similar kinds of "filter" predicates.
It would be nice, as much as possible, if I also don't have to specify the n...n-1 range of the column, as ideally that can change. Could be 10, could be 20,000, shouldn't matter.
The best formula or solution would be like:
SUBTOTAL(1, [ Gn in G0:GLENGTH where Gn > SOMECELL ])
Any pointers, or suggestions where to read, or a solution would be awesome. I've been searching on google, and it seems that I lack the right understanding to find the answer in the material presented.
Also, please excuse me for using programmer speak, I know that Excel formulas are not necessarily a 1:1, I'm just looking for a way to save time. Answers in VBA or using Macros are welcome, the main thing is to find a way to do it...
Best,
Jason
Update
I should specify that it needs to be a bit backwards compatible, so I can't use the FILTER function that is only available in >= 365
I'm not at all sure that your attempts at saving time by talking in programming language instead of English really saves either time or space. My best effort determines that you got us all confused. Please tell me why the simple formula below doesn't work.
=AVERAGEIF(G2:G15000,">"&A1,G2:G15000)
This formula requires A1 to hold a number and the formula supplies the > sign. A variation would have A1 contain both, number and comparison, like >1.2`
=AVERAGEIF(G2:G15000,A1,G2:G15000)
The above formulas start the range at G2. Change to G5 if that is what you need. G15000 is a random number intended to be larger than anything you will ever need. The function ignores blanks. However, if you are worried about having a sheet with 16000 rows just on the day you forgot where to adjust the formula I would recommend the use of a named range which you could format to be dynamic.
Named ranges are neater to handle than range addresses and names can be given descriptively, such as HourlyReadings. The above formula would then look like this:-
=AVERAGEIF(HourlyReadings, ">"&A1,HourlyReadings)
Theoretically, the formula by which HourlyReadings is defined could also be written into the worksheet formula but it would become unwieldy. As shown above, you would have to look into the Name Manager to know if the range is dynamic or not but, of course, once defined you can use the same name in many functions and formulas which saves a lot of maintenance time.
This is for Excel 365, using worksheet formulas. With data in column G starting in G5, in another cell enter:
=SUM(FILTER(G:G,G:G>0))
How about an array?
=SUM(IF(G:G>0,G:G,""))
put cursor in 'function bar' with formula. Then press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER (in that order while holding them all down. {} will appear around formula.
Let me know if further assistance is needed.
Matt

COUNTIF formula counts values that don't match

I'm using counting invoice numbers (text) in a table's column, but the Excel formula seems to be confusing some values.
I copied small sample of these - please refer to below:
The formulas are as follow:
=COUNTIFS(A1:A19,A1)
=COUNTIF(A1:A19,A1)
As you can see these invoice numbers differ and the results of these functions suggest as if all were the same.
I googled it for 1 hour but I didn't find such as issue as mine.
If anybody had any clue why could this behave in such way I'll be super grateful!
Rob
Each time you copy down this formula it will add 1 row to each. For example the second row of datas formula will be =COUNTIFS(A2:A20,A2). To lock these cells in the formula use $
Your formula should be =COUNTIFS(A$1:A$19,A1)
I've solved this myself:
ROOTCAUSE
Excel tried to be helpful and read these invoice numbers as actual numbers (despite these being defined already in Power Query as text)
Then, Excel fooled me and despite showing that it works on it as a string (I was evaluating the formula) it worked on it as number
Above means that it transformed exemplary "00100001010000018525" to 1.00001E+17, which cut down this to "100001010000018000" - that's the moment Excel stopped fooling around and showed that value in the formula bar.
I think I don't need to tell why countif perceived all these values as equal.
SOLUTION
I simply appended one letter after each invoice number to get e.g. "00100001010000018525a" what forces Excel to quit its gimmicks and games.
Case closed.
I suspect this is a bug in COUNTIF, or maybe by design.
However, to workaround this in the formula, without having to change your data, try adding a wild-card character:
=COUNTIF(A1:A19,"*"&A1)

Calculate Text formula (NO VBA and NO Evaluate)

I am using Excel to calculate a string value where Evaluate() works fine but I am not allowed to use evaluate() in the Name Manager and I am not allowed to use it in VB A because the file gets converted to .xls. Here is the issue.
I have 100 s of a long formula example:
($F$10+0)+($F$11+0.125)+($F$10+0.0625)
which i need to evaluate the values between the brackets separately.
I am able to separate the formula to
A1 is ($F$10+0)
A2 is ($F$11+0.125)
A3 is ($F$10+0.0625)
I would like to put an "=" sign in front of this string and calculate the values of A1, A2, and A3.
However I am not allowed to use function EVALUATE() in the File Manager, it does not work in the cells and I am not allowed to use VB A to code the formula.
is there any replacement for evaluate that I can use?
thanks
Welcome to the dark side of Excel.
If you cannot use:
1) VBA
2) Macros
3) Evaluate()
4) File Manager / Define Name
Then there are no simple formulas that can help you (plus you can't make your own). Microsoft has purposely not addressed this issue for many many years.
So you are left to your own devices to create your own parser in Excel cells.
This can be very difficult if you have varying types of formulas that can change signs, or amount of addressed cells, or any number of other craziness that formulas can take.
However... if you have a minimum number of deviations for how the formula is expressed... you can write something that will do the trick.
This comes with a caveat... the formula must be provided with the same parameters each time. And what you gave as examples, has the structure defined exactly the same for each formula.
So therefore, using your examples, you can write this code in column A2:
=INDIRECT(MID(A1,SEARCH("$",A1),SEARCH("+",A1)-SEARCH("$",A1)),TRUE)+MID(A1,SEARCH("+",A1)+1,LEN(A1)-SEARCH("+",A1)-1)
Then you can copy that code over to B2 and C2.
This will give you the correct math as if it was a formula.
The structural parameters that are needed for this to work are:
1) The cell address must always start with a dollar sign $
2) The cell address must be immediately followed by a plus sign +
3) Only a single addition is done as the formula
4) The operand after the plus sign must be numeric
5) The formula must end with a Parenthesis )
6) It can't hurt to begin with a Parenthesis either (
And since all of your formulas adhere to this structure... the formula I provided will work.
If you need to change item 3 to also allow for 'subtraction', then you are going to need to add if statements to the formula and it's going to become complicated very quickly. Impossible? No. But a huge mess? Yes.
Anyway, this should work with all of your restrictions that you have. That is... if your formulas don't deviate from the structure that has been provided. If you have different formula structures, you'd need to let us know about them... or better yet, write your own code.
Hope this helped. :)

Excel: If vlookup returns specific text, countifs number of instances (multiple)

First post, but I am stuck and was hoping for some help. What I am trying to do is use a nested IF formula to determine whether the value returned by a VLOOKUP matches specific text on another sheet in the same workbook. If it does, to then use the COUNTIFS function to determine the sum of instances that specific text contained in a specific cell appears on another sheet (also in the same workbook).
One part of these formulas seems to work, but when I combine it with others, it errors and I can't figure out why.
It's probably something simple, but I'd appreciate any help. Here's the part that seems to "work"
=IF(VLOOKUP($A3,'Sheet1'!$B:$D,3,FALSE)="All",
(COUNTIFS('Sheet2'!$U:$U,'Sheet3'!$A3,'Sheet2'!$C:$C,"MM/DD/YYYY")
+
(COUNTIFS('Sheet2'!$R:$R,'Sheet3'!$A3,'Sheet2'!$C:$C,"MM/DD/YYYY")))
If I put one more parenthesis, it works as is, but seems to omit some of the "All" Vlookup results... thus why I put works in quotations above. That might be an issue with my spreadsheet though, but felt I should include in case I'm just being idiotic. Regardless, when I input two additional IF statements, it errors.
The final formula I've crafted looks like this (double spaced for ease of reading only):
=IF(VLOOKUP($A3,'Sheet1'!$B:$D,3,FALSE)="All",
(COUNTIFS('Sheet2'!$U:$U,'Sheet3'!$A3,'Sheet2'!$C:$C,"MM/DD/YYYY")
+
(COUNTIFS('Sheet2'!$R:$R,'Sheet3'!$A3,'Sheet2'!$C:$C,"MM/DD/YYYY")))),
IF((VLOOKUP($A3,'Sheet1'!$B:$D,3,FALSE)="One",
(COUNTIFS('Sheet2'!$U:$U,'Sheet3'!$A3,'Sheet2'!$C:$C,"MM/DD/YYYY")),
IF((VLOOKUP($A3,'Sheet1'!$B:$D,3,FALSE)="Two",
(COUNTIFS('Sheet2'!$R:$R,'Sheet3'!$A3,'Sheet2'!$C:$C,"MM/DD/YYYY"),
IF((VLOOKUP($A3,'Sheet1'!$B:$D,3,FALSE)="Three",
(COUNTIFS('Sheet2'!$U:$U,'Sheet3'!$A3,'Sheet2'!$C:$C,"MM/DD/YYYY")),"0"))
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Ryan Olson
Just cleaned up some bracketing. Let me know how it goes as I didn't alter the formula otherwise.
=IF(VLOOKUP($A3,Sheet1!$B:$D,3,FALSE)="All",
COUNTIFS(Sheet2!$U:$U,Sheet3!$A3,Sheet2!$C:$C,"MM/DD/YYYY")+(COUNTIFS(Sheet2!$R:$R,Sheet3!$A3,Sheet2!$C:$C,"MM/DD/YYYY")),
IF(VLOOKUP($A3,Sheet1!$B:$D,3,FALSE)="One",
COUNTIFS(Sheet2!$U:$U,Sheet3!$A3,Sheet2!$C:$C,"MM/DD/YYYY"),
IF(VLOOKUP($A3,Sheet1!$B:$D,3,FALSE)="Two",
COUNTIFS(Sheet2!$R:$R,Sheet3!$A3,Sheet2!$C:$C,"MM/DD/YYYY"),
IF(VLOOKUP($A3,Sheet1!$B:$D,3,FALSE)="Three",
COUNTIFS(Sheet2!$U:$U,Sheet3!$A3,Sheet2!$C:$C,"MM/DD/YYYY"),"0"))))

Last non-empty cell in a column

Does anyone know the formula to find the value of the last non-empty cell in a column, in Microsoft Excel?
Using following simple formula is much faster
=LOOKUP(2,1/(A:A<>""),A:A)
For Excel 2003:
=LOOKUP(2,1/(A1:A65535<>""),A1:A65535)
It gives you following advantages:
it's not array formula
it's not volatile formula
Explanation:
(A:A<>"") returns array {TRUE,TRUE,..,FALSE,..}
1/(A:A<>"") modifies this array to {1,1,..,#DIV/0!,..}.
Since LOOKUP expects sorted array in ascending order, and taking into account that if the LOOKUP function can not find an exact match, it chooses the largest value in the lookup_range (in our case {1,1,..,#DIV/0!,..}) that is less than or equal to the value (in our case 2), formula finds last 1 in array and returns corresponding value from result_range (third parameter - A:A).
Also little note - above formula doesn't take into account cells with errors (you can see it only if last non empty cell has error). If you want to take them into account, use:
=LOOKUP(2,1/(NOT(ISBLANK(A:A))),A:A)
image below shows the difference:
This works with both text and numbers and doesn't care if there are blank cells, i.e., it will return the last non-blank cell.
It needs to be array-entered, meaning that you press Ctrl-Shift-Enter after you type or paste it in. The below is for column A:
=INDEX(A:A,MAX((A:A<>"")*(ROW(A:A))))
Here is another option: =OFFSET($A$1;COUNTA(A:A)-1;0)
I know this question is old, but I'm not satisfied with the answers provided.
LOOKUP, VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP has performance issues and should really never be used.
Array functions has a lot of overhead and can also have performance issues, so it should only be used as a last resort.
COUNT and COUNTA run into problems if the data is not contiguously non-blank, i.e. you have blank spaces and then data again in the range in question
INDIRECT is volatile so it should only be used as a last resort
OFFSET is volatile so it should only be used as a last resort
any references to the last row or column possible (the 65536th row in Excel 2003, for instance) is not robust and results in extra overhead
This is what I use
when the data type is mixed: =max(MATCH(1E+306,[RANGE],1),MATCH("*",[RANGE],-1))
when it's known that the data contains only numbers: =MATCH(1E+306,[RANGE],1)
when it's known that the data contains only text: =MATCH("*",[RANGE],-1)
MATCH has the lowest overhead and is non-volatile, so if you're working with lots of data this is the best to use.
Inspired by the great lead given by Doug Glancy's answer, I came up with a way to do the same thing without the need of an array-formula. Do not ask me why, but I am keen to avoid the use of array formulae if at all possible (not for any particular reason, it's just my style).
Here it is:
=SUMPRODUCT(MAX(($A:$A<>"")*(ROW(A:A))))
For finding the last non-empty row using Column A as the reference column
=SUMPRODUCT(MAX(($1:$1<>"")*(COLUMN(1:1))))
For finding the last non-empty column using row 1 as the reference row
This can be further utilized in conjunction with the index function to efficiently define dynamic named ranges, but this is something for another post as this is not related to the immediate question addressed herein.
I've tested the above methods with Excel 2010, both "natively" and in "Compatibility Mode" (for older versions of Excel) and they work. Again, with these you do not need to do any of the Ctrl+Shift+Enter. By leveraging the way sumproduct works in Excel we can get our arms around the need to carry array-operations but we do it without an array-formula. I hope someone out there may appreciate the beauty, simplicity and elegance of these proposed sumproduct solutions as much as I do. I do not attest to the memory-efficiency of the above solutions though. Just that they are simple, look beautiful, help the intended purpose and are flexible enough to extend their use to other purposes :)
Hope this helps!
All the best!
This works in Excel 2003 (& later with minor edit, see below). Press Ctrl+Shift+Enter (not just Enter) to enter this as an array formula.
=IF(ISBLANK(A65536),INDEX(A1:A65535,MAX((A1:A65535<>"")*(ROW(A1:A65535)))),A65536)
Be aware that Excel 2003 is unable to apply an array formula to an entire column. Doing so yields #NUM!; unpredictable results may occur! (EDIT: Conflicting information from Microsoft: The same may or may not be true about Excel 2007; problem may have been fixed in 2010.)
That's why I apply the array formula to range A1:A65535 and give special treatment to the last cell, which is A65536 in Excel 2003. Can't just say A:A or even A1:A65536 as the latter automatically reverts to A:A.
If you're absolutely sure A65536 is blank, then you can skip the IF part:
=INDEX(A1:A65535,MAX((A1:A65535<>"")*(ROW(A1:A65535))))
Note that if you're using Excel 2007 or 2010, the last row number is 1048576 not 65536, so adjust the above as appropriate.
If there are no blank cells in the middle of your data, then I would just use the simpler formula, =INDEX(A:A,COUNTA(A:A)).
An alternative solution without array formulas, possibly more robust than that of a previous answer with a (hint to a) solution without array formulas, is
=INDEX(A:A,INDEX(MAX(($A:$A<>"")*(ROW(A:A))),0))
See this answer as an example.
Kudos to Brad and barry houdini, who helped solving this question.
Possible reasons for preferring a non-array formula are given in:
An official Microsoft page (look for "Disadvantages of using array formulas").
Array formulas can seem magical, but they also have some disadvantages:
You may occasionally forget to press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER. Remember to press this key combination whenever you enter or edit an array formula.
Other users may not understand your formulas. Array formulas are relatively undocumented, so if other people need to modify your workbooks, you should either avoid array formulas or make sure those users understand how to change them.
Depending on the processing speed and memory of your computer, large array formulas can slow down calculations.
Array Formula Heresy.
if you search in Column (A) use :
=INDIRECT("A" & SUMPRODUCT(MAX((A:A<>"")*(ROW(A:A)))))
if your range is A1:A10 you can use:
=INDIRECT("A" & SUMPRODUCT(MAX(($A$1:$A10<>"")*(ROW($A$1:$A10)))))
in this formula :
SUMPRODUCT(MAX(($A$1:$A10<>"")*(ROW($A$1:$A10))))
returns last non blank row number ,and indirect() returns cell value.
=INDEX(A:A, COUNTA(A:A), 1) taken from here
=MATCH("*";A1:A10;-1) for textual data
=MATCH(0;A1:A10;-1) for numerical data
Ive tried all the non-volatile versions but Not one version given above has worked.. excel 2003/2007update. Surely this can be done in excel 2003. Not as an array nor standard formula.
I either get just a blank, 0 or #value error.
So I resort to the volatile methods .. This worked..
=LOOKUP(2,1/(T4:T369<>""),T4:T369)
#Julian Kroné .. Using ";" instead of "," does NOT work! I think you are using Libre Office not MS excel?
LOOKUP is so annoyingly volitile I use it as a last resort only
For Microsoft office 2013
"Last but one" of a non empty row:
=OFFSET(Sheet5!$C$1,COUNTA(Sheet5!$C:$C)-2,0)
"Last" non empty row:
=OFFSET(Sheet5!$C$1,COUNTA(Sheet5!$C:$C)-1,0)
Place this code in a VBA module. Save. Under functions, User defined look for This function.
Function LastNonBlankCell(Range As Excel.Range) As Variant
Application.Volatile
LastNonBlankCell = Range.End(xlDown).Value
End Function
for textual data:
EQUIV("";A1:A10;-1)
for numerical data:
EQUIV(0;A1:A10;-1)
This give you the relative index of the last non empty cell in the range selected (here A1:A10).
If you want to get the value, access it via INDIRECT after building -textually- the absolute cell reference, eg:
INDIRECT("A" & (nb_line_where_your_data_start + EQUIV(...) - 1))
I had the same problem too. This formula also works equally well:-
=INDIRECT(CONCATENATE("$G$",(14+(COUNTA($G$14:$G$65535)-1))))
14 being the row number of the first row in the rows you want to count.
Chronic Clawtooth
I used HLOOKUP
A1 has a date;
A2:A8 has forecasts captured at different times, I want the latest
=Hlookup(a1,a1:a8,count(a2:a8)+1)
This uses a standard hlookup formula with the lookup array defined by the number of entries.
If you know that there are not going to be empty cells in between, the fastest way is this.
=INDIRECT("O"&(COUNT(O:O,"<>""")))
It just counts the non-empty cells and refers to the appropriate cell.
It can be used for a specific range as well.
=INDIRECT("O"&(COUNT(O4:O34,"<>""")+3))
This returns the last non empty cell in the range O4:O34.
This formula worked with me for office 2010:
=LOOKUP(2;1/(A1:A100<>"");A1:A100)
A1: the first cell
A100: refer to the last cell in comparing
I think the response from W5ALIVE is closest to what I use to find the last row of data in a column. Assuming I am looking for the last row with data in Column A, though, I would use the following for the more generic lookup:
=MAX(IFERROR(MATCH("*",A:A,-1),0),IFERROR(MATCH(9.99999999999999E+307,A:A,1),0))
The first MATCH will find the last text cell and the second MATCH finds the last numeric cell. The IFERROR function returns zero if the first MATCH finds all numeric cells or if the second match finds all text cells.
Basically this is a slight variation of W5ALIVE's mixed text and number solution.
In testing the timing, this was significantly quicker than the equivalent LOOKUP variations.
To return the actual value of that last cell, I prefer to use indirect cell referencing like this:
=INDIRECT("A"&MAX(IFERROR(MATCH("*",A:A,-1),0),IFERROR(MATCH(9.99999999999999E+307,A:A,1),0)))
The method offered by sancho.s is perhaps a cleaner option, but I would modify the portion that finds the row number to this:
=INDEX(MAX((A:A<>"")*(ROW(A:A))),1)
the only difference being that the ",1" returns the first value while the ",0" returns the entire array of values (all but one of which are not needed). I still tend to prefer addressing the cell to the index function there, in other words, returning the cell value with:
=INDIRECT("A"&INDEX(MAX((A:A<>"")*(ROW(A:A))),1))
Great thread!
If you are not afraid to use arrays, then the following is a very simple formula to solve the problem:
=SUM(IF(A:A<>"",1,0))
You must press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER because this is an array formula.
INDEX returns a value by index position in an array and ROWS then is used to specify the last position of the array.
=LET(array,A1:A10,INDEX(array,ROWS(array)))
Also works for multiple columns when setting the parameter [column_num] of INDEX to 0:
=LET(array,A1:C10,INDEX(array,ROWS(array),0))
A simple one which works for me:
=F7-INDEX(A:A,COUNT(A:A))
Okay, so I had the same issue as the asker, and tried both top answers. But only getting formula errors. Turned out that I needed to exchange the "," to ";" for the formulas to work. I am using XL 2007.
Example:
=LOOKUP(2;1/(A:A<>"");A:A)
or
=INDEX(A:A;MAX((A:A<>"")*(ROW(A:A))))
For version tracking (adding the letter v to the beginning of the number), I found this one to work well in Xcelsius (SAP Dashboards)
="v"&MAX(A2:A500)

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