Compare two cells

[Cunner]

Hello out there,

I am looking for a way to compare two cells in the same rows of different columns.
I basically want to tell if the cells are the same (then "True") or not (then "False").
The problem is, that in the one column, there is sometimes more information, e.g. in one column, there is just the surname but in the other one is the surname followed by the given name.

Can I make Excel compare just the beginning of cells, such as the first 5 characters or so?

Thanks in advance.

[arthurbr]

Hi,

in your example it is indeed possible
if data is in a1 and a2 something like
=if((left(a1,5)=left(a2,5)), do something, do something else)

To make sure this answer helps you can attach a sample worksheet

[Cunner]

Perfect.
I didn't know the "Left" Formula. With this, it works just nice now.

Thanks a lot.