Text
Checking two labels letter for letter
Definition
Testing whether two labels match in case as well as letters means giving EXACT both labels.
Syntax
=EXACT(text1, text2)
Arguments
| Argument | Meaning |
|---|---|
text1 |
The first label, such as B2. |
text2 |
The second label to compare, such as C2. |
Worked example
A packing list stores the printed mark in B2 and the scanned mark in C2. Both marks use the same letters and the same case.
| A: Box | B: Print | C: Scan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Box | Box |
| 2 | Crate | crate |
| 3 | Bag | Bag |
Formula: =EXACT(B2,C2)
Result: TRUE. Box and Box match in letters and in case.
Practice
Cell A2 holds Hi. Cell B2 holds hi. In C2, write a formula that shows 1 when those two labels match exactly and 0 when they do not.
- In C2, write an IF formula that uses EXACT and shows 1 when A2 and B2 match, and 0 otherwise.
- C2 should show the result for Hi and hi.
Step 1 of 2
Enter =IF(EXACT(A2,B2),1,0) in C2.
Hi and hi differ in case, so the result is 0.
Formulas here use English function names, such as SUM, and a period as the decimal separator, in every language.
Loading the sheet…
C2 uses EXACT.
C2 now shows 0.
The next lesson is Building a time from three numbers.
Related functions
EXACT is the function that compares the two labels and treats case as part of the match.
Common mistake
Using equals, as in =B2=C2 on Crate and crate: the ordinary equals test ignores case, so the result is TRUE instead of FALSE.