Excel 2007 : Somewhat complex lookup function

[IdRatherBeCoding]

Hello all,

I am having trouble implementing a complex (at least by my standards...) lookup function. I want a cell, let's say it's C3, to check the text in B3 against a list of names and return true if it's on there and false if it isn't.

I can't use VLOOKUP because I need the contents of the A column to be first.

Any help would be much appreciated!

[Roger Govier]

Hi

Post an example of what you mean by " I want the A column to be first"

[Ron Coderre]

See if this example helps...
Here's the list
H1: Alpha
H2: Bravo
H3: Charlie

and
B3: may or may not contain an item from that list...e.g. Charlie

This regular formula returns 1 if B3 contains a list item, otherwise zero
C3: =COUNTIF(H1:H3,B3)

In the above example the formula returns: 1..."Charlie" is on the list

Is that something you can work with?

[IdRatherBeCoding]

Thanks for the idea, Ron! I figured it out using a combination of a new sheet, COUNTIF, and VLOOKUP.