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Grouping Names that Share Attributes (Huge? Data Set)

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    Grouping Names that Share Attributes (Huge? Data Set)

    I am compiling a chart of information for a game but am way over my head trying to figure out how to arrive at my goal.

    Info:
    There are 111 names.
    There are 55 different attributes.
    Each name will have four unique attributes (no name will have the same attribute twice).
    Each name already has assigned attributes, and they will not change.
    Column A is the name; Columns B, C, D and E are the attributes.

    Goal:
    Display all possible groups of 2, 3 or 4 names when the names share at least one of the same attribute.

    Example:
    Attribute 1 Attribute 2 Attribute 3 Attribute 4
    Name 1 RP FS RM RH
    Name 2 DM WB RH FP
    Name 3 RS WB FM RM

    In the example above, Name 1 shares one attribute with Name 2 (RH) and one attribute with Name 3 (RM). Further, Name 2 shares a separate attribute (WB) with Name 3. This would result in a group of three that lists Name 1, Name 2 and Name 3.

    I regularly use Excel for charts and lists, but the extent of my use of functions caps out at nested IF statements. There are seemingly thousands of possibilities (given the data set), so I expect the final list of groups to be several thousand long, but I don’t care how long the formula(s) or outcome(s) will be if the result is accurate and complete.

    Thanks in advance for any help or guidance!

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    Re: Grouping Names that Share Attributes (Huge? Data Set)

    Attach a sample workbook. Make sure there is just enough data to demonstrate your need. Include a BEFORE sheet and an AFTER sheet in the workbook if needed to show the process you're trying to complete or automate. Make sure your desired results are shown, mock them up manually if necessary.

    Remember to desensitize the data.

    Click on GO ADVANCED and then scroll down to Manage Attachments to open the upload window.

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    Re: Grouping Names that Share Attributes (Huge? Data Set)

    Thanks for the reply. Attached is the sample workbook. Sheet one is the list of names with assigned attributes. Sheet two is simply a list of the names grouped by attribute; I have this sheet for a future expansion to my workbook, but it may not be needed for what I am trying to accomplish here. Sheet three is the requested sample results sheet; of course, it is only a small sample of the final results because the goal of this exercise is to list EVERY possible group of names with 2 or 3 shared pairs of attributes.

    In creating a sample results sheet, I realized that my original inquiry was inaccurate: the results will list groups of 2 or 3; there will NOT be groups of 4. Although there may be four attributes shared between the grouped names, the group of names itself will only be 2 names or 3 names. To clarify, two names could have 2 pairs of shared attributes or 3 pairs or 4 pairs. Three names could have 3 pairs or 4 pairs.

    Additionally, the results sheet will NOT list three names if one of the names does not have a match with either of the two others (no dead weight, so to speak).

    Finally, the sample results sheet has a column that lists the number of pairs between the group of names; this may be helpful for me in a future expansion but is not absolutely necessary for my ultimate goal. Further, although having the groups of names is the goal, having the results somehow pull the actual attributes and listing them might be helpful, but again, is not necessary for my goal; the goal is to list all possible of groups of 2 or 3 names that share at least one pair of attributes.
    Attached Files Attached Files

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    Re: Grouping Names that Share Attributes (Huge? Data Set)

    Thank you to sandy666 for the response, but since I have not seen any further interest, I offer a bump.

    I know that the data in my question doesn’t involve math, accounting, etc. and so it may have been ignored by some, but I know that there are a lot of very bright people on this forum, some of whom I believe can offer some guidance to reach my goal, so I offer my original question restated.

    Let’s replace the “attributes” with numbers. So, imagine 111 people each holding four cards. The cards can have a number on them from 1 to 55. The known info is the name of each person and which four cards each person is holding. First, I want to pair any two people that have at least one card in common with someone else (all possibilities; duplicates are acceptable). Then, take each pair of people and add a third person that has at least one card in common with at least one of the original pair (again, all possibilities). The results will be groups of 2 names and groups of 3 names.

    I have two problems with reaching my goal: 1) I simply don’t know what formula(s) are most appropriate to reach my goal and 2) when I start to think about manually listing all possibilities, I estimate over a million combinations, so I need a formula(s) that will list all possible outcomes.

    If I were to change my sample workbook to list numbers (again, from 1 to 55) in place of the attributes, might that make this more palpable?

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    Re: Grouping Names that Share Attributes (Huge? Data Set)

    I said: attach example file - I didn't say I will help.

    It will be much easier for someone who will be interested in ( I am not, sorry)

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