OFFSET and IF?

[MariJ]

Hi! I have this task to complete and I am having real difficulty with getting the formula correct since I would be using two formulas I think. The task is pasted below. Does someone have a suggestion for a formula on how to complete the task?

MJ


Name Duplicate Indicator
Jack
Jack
Jack
Jill
Fred
Fred
Fred
Fred
Mark
Nancy
Nancy

Use the offset and any other Excel function to get
a duplicate indicator for each name.
A value of 1 indicates the first time a name is listed.
A value of 0 indicates the name is a repeat.
Place the offset and any other Excel function in the range B4 to B14
Using offset to point to the answer in column H is not an acceptable solution

Note: The purpose of this exercise is to see if you can figure out how to use the
Offset command and not to find the best solution to the problem.

Clue: The names have been sorted so that all duplicate names are grouped together.

[tigeravatar]

MariJ,

Welcome to the forum!
Unfortunately, from our FAQ

Homework or assignments!

In this forum we cannot allow direct help with homework or assignment questions, if we tell you how to do it you will never learn how to do it! We can answer specific questions and point you in the right direction, if you really don't understand your work/assignment then don't be afraid to contact your tutor as he/she will be pleased you came forward for help rather than struggle. One other thing, your tutor(s) may also frequent this and many other forums like it, either to help the community or sourcing training aids for their pupils so be mindful of this when seeking help!

That being said, here are a couple of links that should hopefully help you out:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/ex...005209208.aspx
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324991


Using the provided clue, you'll want to check to see if an offset cell = the current cell.

[BB1972]

Hi! I have this task to complete.....

....Use the offset and any other Excel function to get a duplicate indicator for each name....
A value of 1 indicates the first time a name is listed.
A value of 0 indicates the name is a repeat.
....Place the offset and any other Excel function in the range B4 to B14.....
....Using offset to point to the answer in column H is not an acceptable solution......
....Note: The purpose of this exercise is to see if you can figure out how to use the Offset command and not to find the best solution to the problem.....

A wise man once said: "If it looks like homework, and sounds like homework, it probably IS homework."

So, who is this exercise for, MariJ - the forum members, or a pupil/student called MariJ?

[MariJ]

Hi ~tigeravatar!

Thank you for your assistance! Thank you for the concern, but this task told me to ask for help if I needed it, so it is okay if you help me! Do you know what the formula should be?

MariJ

[FDibbins]

MariJ, you could say that even if that was not in the instructions. sorry, rules are rules - if you have a specific question regarding a formula/function, then ask that question

[tigeravatar]

MariJ,

For a situation like this, I wouldn't use Offset at all, however:

Note: The purpose of this exercise is to see if you can figure out how to use the
Offset command and not to find the best solution to the problem.

So you just need to learn how to use offset. Once you've learned how to use offset, translate something like this so that it uses offset:

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Basically, change either A3 or A4 so that the cell is being referenced by the offset function instead.