Thanks Bernard. however i get an error saying there is a missing parenthesis,
so i have added one to the end, then i get a formula message saying i am
missing the value if true value if false values

"Bernard Liengme" wrote:

=IF(OR(ISERROR(SEARCH("CMT",A5)),ISERROR(SEARCH("D IVS",A5)),ISERROR(SEARCH("FUND",A5)),
IF(LEN(A5)3,1,""), "" )
best wishes
--
Bernard V Liengme
www.stfx.ca/people/bliengme
remove caps from email

"Micayla Bergen" wrote in message
...
can i have a formula that looks for one thing but with exceptions?
i.e. =IF(LEN(A5)3,1,"") but if A5 contains CMT, DIVS or FUND
many thanks