In B1,
=IF(A1="abc123","bill","")
The double qoutes at the end of the formula will return an empty cell but
you can put anything you like in there, like an alternative,
=IF(A1="abc123","bill","harry")
or an error message,
=IF(A1="abc123","bill","Error!")
or if you leave them out completely but retain the comma it will return 0
=IF(A1="abc123","bill",)
without the comma it will return FALSE
=IF(A1="abc123","bill")
Regards,
Alan.
"KeK23" wrote in message
...
Sorry evryone the top row of my example should read

A1=abc123 then B1 will=bill

"KeK23" wrote:

I want to insert text into a cell and reference it to text in another
cell.

eg A1=123abc then A2 will= bill
A2=456def Then B2 will=john
I have about 20 of the same sets of varying data can anyone suggest any
ideas?