I am trying to compare two columns of data to find identical data, i'm using
the formula below and when it is supposed to be same it says different, in
some areas the formula works right in others it doesn't. any ideas on what
the problem is

IF(A1=B1,"SAME","DIFFERENT")

thanks for the help

Depends what the data is. Could it be a real number compared to a text
number ? Or maybe trailing spaces. Depends how you get the data.

Regards

Trevor


"CM" wrote in message
...
I am trying to compare two columns of data to find identical data, i'm
using
the formula below and when it is supposed to be same it says different, in
some areas the formula works right in others it doesn't. any ideas on what
the problem is

IF(A1=B1,"SAME","DIFFERENT")

thanks for the help

See if this works:

=IF(LOWER(TRIM(A2)) = LOWER(TRIM(B2)), "Same", "Different")


"CM" wrote:

I am trying to compare two columns of data to find identical data, i'm using
the formula below and when it is supposed to be same it says different, in
some areas the formula works right in others it doesn't. any ideas on what
the problem is

IF(A1=B1,"SAME","DIFFERENT")

thanks for the help

On Tue, 6 Nov 2007 14:41:02 -0800, CM wrote:

I am trying to compare two columns of data to find identical data, i'm using
the formula below and when it is supposed to be same it says different, in
some areas the formula works right in others it doesn't. any ideas on what
the problem is

IF(A1=B1,"SAME","DIFFERENT")

thanks for the help

In the instances where the formula returns "DIFFERENT", A1 is not the same as
B1.

Without access to your data, it is impossible to say further. Possibilities
include text vs number; non-printing characters; trailing spaces; etc.
--ron

That formula disregards case and leading or trailing spaces. So be careful
how you use it. You might want to know if there are spaces in a cell since
they have a value in computer speak. If you want to capture those
differences, then eliminate the TRIM portion of the formula.

"CM" wrote:

I am trying to compare two columns of data to find identical data, i'm using
the formula below and when it is supposed to be same it says different, in
some areas the formula works right in others it doesn't. any ideas on what
the problem is

IF(A1=B1,"SAME","DIFFERENT")

thanks for the help

One more thing. Be sure you have your range formatted the same for text and
numbers.

"CM" wrote:

I am trying to compare two columns of data to find identical data, i'm using
the formula below and when it is supposed to be same it says different, in
some areas the formula works right in others it doesn't. any ideas on what
the problem is

IF(A1=B1,"SAME","DIFFERENT")

thanks for the help