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One or the other not both

Figure 1. One or The Other Not Both in Excel.

Let’s say we have two items and we want to SELECT EITHER OF THEM BUT NOT BOTH of two items, we will be using the Excel XOR function.

Generic Formula

=XOR(criteria1,criteria2)

Just one criterion is allowed to be fulfilled.

How to use the XOR Function in Excel.

We are going to utilize the XOR Function in 3 simple steps.

  1. Collect the available dates and arrange within the labeled columns of our worksheet.

See example illustrated below;

Figure 2. One or The Other Not Both in Excel.

Our purpose here is for the XOR Function to return as TRUE when one of MATH and LITERATURE is marked “x” and return as FALSE if none of MATH or LITERATURE is marked “x” and also return as FALSE if both MATH and LITERATURE have an”x”.

  1. In our example above, the XOR formula we will enter into cell D2 is as follows;

=XOR(B2="x",C2="x")

Figure 3. One or The Other Not Both in Excel.

  1. Edit the formula in cell D2 above, and enter into the other cells in the RESULT column to get the desired results.

Figure 4. One or The Other Not Both in Excel.

The XOR Function one criteria and then the next criteria and gives us a TRUE or FALSE outcome.

The behavior of the XOR Function is called an “exclusive” behavior; in which just one outcome can be TRUE. Never both.

Figure 5. Final Result.

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