Find Oldest Date for Criteria in different Column

Hello,

I am trying to figure out how to find the oldest date for a certain file type. In Col A we have the file type, and in Col B we have the Date. There is 8 file types I am working with so I will need to find the oldest file date for each of them.

I know this is not actual syntax, just trying to illustrate what I am attempting to do, thanks

for(A1:A999)= "New File" return Small(B1:B999)
for(A1:A999)= "Reevaluation File" return Small(B1:B999)

For what its worth, I will really be referencing a static list of file types. So it will really be more like
for(A1:A999)=C1 return Small(B1:B999)
for(A1:A999)=C2 return Small(B1:B999) etc.

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

Hi Mglassco, perhaps try the array formula:

=MIN(IF($A$1:$A$999=C1,$B$1:$B$999))

This must be confirmed using CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER, not just ENTER. You can then fill that down from C1 to Cx.

That should work just fine as long as the values in column AC are **EXACTLY** the same as the value in cell B2. No extra spacing, hidden characters, etc. Also, format the cell with the formula as Date, otherwise you'll get numbers as results (representing the serial date).

If you confirm they are exact, please upload a sample of your data (we don't need 100,000 rows to test) and we can take a look at why it's not working.

If the value in B2 is not found anywhere in column AC, then yes, you'll get 0 (or FALSE). If a match is found, and column J contains actual dates, the minimum date will be returned.

Well my modified formula is giving me the same results, even with the additional IF statement. Am I not using it correctly?

Can you please post a sample workbook? It can likely be resolved in one post rather than 20.

Glad you have it sorted. Please mark the thread as Solved in that case. (Just above the original post in this thread, click Thread Tools > Mark Thread as Solved.)

Thanks!