An alternative, yes, but can you enlighten me as to why this might be more robust?

--

HTH

RP
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wrote in message ...

While I am looking for:
Column A Column B = Function(?????)
FT1305 1
FT1305* 2
FT1305* 2

an alternative that I think will be more robust
=SUM(--EXACT(A2,$A$2:$A$4))
note: array entered (CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER)

and copied down

The exact returns an array of True and False
the -- changes them into 1 and 0 that can be summed

hth RES