We can use a formula that combines the IF and OR functions to return a value if a cell contains either of two values. The formula returns a TRUE or FALSE or whatever we have specified. The steps below will walk through the process.
Figure 1: Result for IF A CELL CONTAINS THIS OR THAT
General Formula
=IF(OR(A4="this",A4="that"),"YES","")
Formula
=IF(OR(A4="Vegas",A4="Dallas"),"YES","")
Setting up the Data
We will use the data below that show the yearly sales for a product in different states at different times by a company. We intend to check each cell if it contains Vegas or Dallas.
- We will input the states in Cell A4 to Cell A13
- We will input the yearly sales in Cell B4 to Cell B13
- Cell C4 to Cell C13 will contain the results that are returned by the formula. “YES” is returned if the cell contains VEGAS or DALLAS and an empty cell is returned if the cell does not contain VEGAS or DALLAS
Figure 2: Setting up the Data for IF A CELL CONTAINS VEGAS or DALLAS
If a Cell Contains Vegas OR Dallas
- We will click on Cell C4
- We will insert the formula below into Cell C4
=IF(OR(A4="Vegas",A4="Dallas"),"YES","")
- We will press the enter key
Figure 3: Result for Cell C4 IF A CELL CONTAINS VEGAS or DALLAS
- We will click on Cell C4 again
- We will double-click on the fill handle (the small plus sign at the bottom right of Cell C4) and drag down to copy the formula into the other cells
Figure 4: Result for IF A CELL CONTAINS VEGAS or DALLAS
Explanation
=IF(OR(A4="Vegas",A4="Dallas"),"YES","")
In this formula, the OR function checks the specified cell if it contains either VEGAS or DALLAS. The IF Function returns TRUE or FALSE based on what is returned by the OR function. However, we have specified that the IF FUNCTION returns YES as TRUE and an EMPTY CELL (“”) as FALSE.
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