I'm trying to use Google Sheets to make a register-type file. In this file, I have a column of names of people that should be attending and another column where I write the names of the people I have already seen, in separate cells, so I can track other things like time they arrived and food preferences etc. I'm trying to create a FIND statement to search for the names to automatically cross people off the list that have arrived. This is what I've tried:
=FIND(C30, F3:F10)
And it gives the error:
Error
An array value could not be found.
I've managed to make it work by using:
=FIND(C30, F3)
but that literally only searches one cell, which is not helpful at all.
Is there any way I can search a range of field for the phrase in another field? If you want to see an example of what I need, here's a link.
Best Answer
If you also make the argument a range, also the cells your describing in the question do not match the sample sheet you shared - based on the sheet and the cells it is referring to, this is the formula that works:
IFERROR
basically avoids showing#N/A
when the value is not yet found, and since you want to apply the find function to the list of names you have written you need to pass it a range of names to look up, completed by wrapping it withARRAYFORMULA
.If you share a more complete sheet that is closer to the actual results your trying to get it would be easier to come up with a more dynamic answer, likely a simpler way to do it also .
To match in any order you should move your search list to another column or sheet , pretend you move your list of names to start in cell
I2
you would update your formula and enter it in H2: