Thread: text counting w/ wildcards

I feel like I know how to do this, but nothing I'm trying is working for me.

I have a listing of words in Column D, and a list of wildcard values I want to count in Column E. I want to make a value in Column F that says TRUE/FALSe based on whether or not the wildcard match the word. Somewhat like this
D E F
bat *at* TRUE
bats *og* TRUE
cats TRUE
dog TRUE
frog TRUE
frogs TRUE
fish FALSE
bird FALSE

I tried

Code:

=countif(D1,E:E)

copied down the F column, but it's not working and I'm not sure why.

This is really obvious and I know I'll feel dumb when someone helps me

Thanks in advance,
Adam

It seems a bit complicated but this works

=IF(NOT(ISERROR(SEARCH(E$1,D1))),"True",IF(NOT(ISERROR(SEARCH(E$2,D1))),"True","False"))

copied down column F

Perhaps

F1: =ISNUMBER(LOOKUP(9.99E+307,SEARCH($E$1:$E$2,$D1)))
copied down

The reference to E1:E2 can be made to be dynamic if needed.

(if you want the Boolean as literal text string - ampersand a Null to the result)

Originally Posted by DonkeyOte

Perhaps

F1: =ISNUMBER(LOOKUP(9.99E+307,SEARCH($E$1:$E$2,$D1)))
copied down

The reference to E1:E2 can be made to be dynamic if needed.

(if you want the Boolean as literal text string - ampersand a Null to the result)

This worked like a charm. Thanks yet again, DonkeyOte!