Formula to search for multiple strings

[newnoise]

I'd like to add a column in my spreadsheet that will contain formulas that will search another column of data for multiple strings, reporting either "Present" (if any one of the strings is present) or "ABSENT" (if none are). Specifically, the column to be searched will have address information (e.g., "123 Oak Drive"). I'd like to use a formula to search each cell in the address column for various address components (e.g., "Road," "Drive," "Avenue," "Boulevard"). I want the search to not be case-specific, so I'm guessing it will involve the "SEARCH()" command. As my thinking goes, the formula would involve both ISERROR, SEARCH, and OR (to indicate more than one search term), but I haven't been able to figure out anything that works.

Here's a little example of what I'd like the formula to do (assuming the search formula in the "Check" column includes the terms "Drive," "Avenue," and "Boulevard"):

Address	Check
123 Oak Drive	Present
45 Wesley Avenue	Present
41 1st Boulevard	Present
65 Chalmers	ABSENT

Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

[Paul]

Hi Newnoise,

Hopefully this function will work for you:

=IF(OR(ISNUMBER(SEARCH({"drive","avenue","boulevard"},A2))),"Present","ABSENT")