On tab 1, I have a column where each cell in that column has a group of numbers, and another column where that group of numbers is associated with a name.
Example:
A1: 131,210,312,419,5010 B1: Jim A2: 210,311,517,614,701 B2: Tom A3: 51,120,210 B3: Sam A4: 311,701,1012 B4: Tim
On tab 2, I have a column of numbers.
Example:
A1: 131 A2: 210 A3: 120 A4: 42
Next to each number, I want to return the name associated with the first list which contains the number. So in this example, it should be…
A1: 131 B1: Jim A2: 210 B2: Jim A3: 120 B3: Sam A4: 42 B4: N/A
I’m thinking find or vlookup might be involved, but I haven’t been able to figure out how to make it come together.
In order to achieve a true match, you must enforce the condition that each value looked for will begin and end with a comma. This string concatenation together with the wildcards will necessitate an array formula.
The array formula in E1 is =INDEX('Tab 1'!$B$1:$B$4,MATCH("*,"&D1&",*",","&'Tab 1'!$A$1:$A$4&",",0)). This requires Ctrl+Shift+Enter rather than simply Enter. Once entered correctly, it can be filled down as necessary. You may wish to apply an IFERROR wrapper to show an empty string instead os #N/A.
Answer：
Entered as an array formula (Ctrl-Shift-Enter) and copied down, this works:
=INDEX($B$1:$B$4,MATCH(TRUE,ISNUMBER(SEARCH(","&D8&",",","&$A$1:$A$4&",")),0))
Tags: excelexcel, string
