the formula boils down to

=if(max(Countif(range,range))1,"Duplicates,"No Duplicates")

Countif(range,range) would return an array like {1;4;1;1;1;1;1;2;4;4;4;2}

for a column with data like:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
2
2
2
8


Max finds the max number in the array. If it is greater than 1, then there
are duplicates. Otherwise, there are not.

The other part of the formula is just finding the max row with a value so
the range dynamically determines the range of cells to check.

--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy


"Steve" wrote in message
...
I found the formula below some place and I am trying to
understand the logic behind it. It finds duplicate entries
in a column. If anyone would like to give me a hand in
understanding it I would appreciate it. I am a beginner in
the fomula creation world and I think by understanding
other people's logic it will help me as I develope my own
formulas.

=IF(MAX(COUNTIF(INDIRECT("A2:A"&(MAX((A2:A500<"") *ROW
(A2:A500)))),INDIRECT("A2:A"&(MAX((A2:A500<"")*RO W
(A2:A500))))))1,"Duplicates","No Duplicates")

Thanks