Microsoft Office Q&A: Ask anything (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

driftingpilot8 said:Hey there,

I need some help. I have two columns in Excel that are supposed to have the exact same number of rows.
Is there a way to find the discrepancies and highlight them somehow?

Can you clarify what you mean? 😕

From what I gather, you’ve got two columns—or maybe two separate sets of data—and you need to compare them against each other. But here’s my question: how exactly are we comparing? Are we checking if one whole column matches another whole column, or are we looking at specific individual values row by row? 😕 If you're just dealing with numbers, why not just sum up both columns separately? If the totals don't match, you've found your problem. Otherwise, tell me exactly what you're trying to achieve and what the comparison logic should be, and I'll see if I can actually be of any use to you.

Walter Jackson48 said:For your specific setup, just swap out that "0" for a nested IF statement—something like:
=IF(A2>B2,1,IF(A2>C2,0,IF(A2>D2,2,IF(...and so on until you hit the end

Thanks a ton!
Now I'm running into a different headache—I need a formula that counts how many specific conditions have actually been met. I tried messing around with this:

=COUNT(IF(U22>W22,IF(W26>U26,IF(U30>W30😉))) but it’s just not working...

Any idea—from you or anyone else—how I can pull this off?

frozenraven10 said:Thanks a ton!
Now I'm running into a different headache. I want a function that counts how many specific conditions have actually been met. Here is what I tried attempting:

=COUNT(IF(U22>W22;IF(W26>U26;IF(U30>W30😉))) but it’s just not working...

Does anyone here—or maybe someone else out there—know how to pull this off?

I'm a bit out of the loop here and haven't quite grasped the context, but maybe one of these will do the trick:
=COUNTIF(Range; Criteria) - counts cells in the Range that aren't empty and meet the specified Criteria
=COUNTA ( ) – counts all non-empty cells

Walter Jackson48 said:Just head over to the Layout tab, then hit Bullets and Numbering, and from there you can just pick out one of those dash styles, easy peasy. That’s basically all there is to it. (Keep in mind I'm looking at an old-school 2003 version here)

Oh boy...
any chance you know where that setting lives in the English version? Mine is set to English, so I'm a bit lost with the different labels
🙄

driftingpilot8 said:Thanks, but even the basic IF(A1=B1;1;2) logic seems broken right out of the gate.

Look, here is how you actually do it. Type "Mark" in cell A1 and "Mark" in B1—C1 should spit out a 1.
Then, try typing "Mark" in A2 and "Ivan" in B2, and you'll see C2 gives you a 2.
And please, for heaven's sake, don't forget to put the equals sign at the start of the formula, and make sure you're using semicolons
to separate your arguments in the formula.

Wait, I just realized something! Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like they're constantly fighting with their software? Like, one minute you're cruising along, and the next, everything just... breaks? Anyway, I was thinking about that whole situation earlier—you know, the one everyone was buzzing about? It's funny how things work out sometimes! Does anyone else get that feeling? Just a total sense of "wait, what just happened?" But yeah, back to the point! I’m just over here trying to make sense of it all. What do you guys think? Am I crazy, or is this actually happening? kaže:
So, okay! Here's the deal: if you just pop "marko" into cell A1 and then put "marko" right into B1... wouldn't you expect C1 to just spit out a 1? That's how it works, right?!
So, here’s what you do! Just pop "Mark" into cell A2, then toss "John" right into B2... and boom! If you set it up right, cell C2 should spit out a 2. Isn't that wild? Simple as that!
Oh, and don't forget! You've gotta make sure you pop that equals sign right in front of the formula—and don't leave out the elements either! Seriously, don't skip that part!
Hey, just a quick heads-up if you're working on those formulas! You've gotta use a semicolon to separate everything, okay? Like, seriously, don't forget that part or it won't work! Use the semicolon!

Ugh, I tried typing out that formula you gave me, but it just wouldn't work! Those symbols were totally throwing everything off. Why does math always have to be so tricky like that?!

So, this would be the whole formula, right? Like, the complete thing! It’s super simple—I mean, it's totally obvious, isn't it?

So, I was staring at my screen earlier—you know those days where you just stare at the cells until they start blurring together?—and I started thinking about this super simple little formula. You know the one? `=IF(A1=B1, 1, 2)`. It’s such a classic! It's basically like asking Excel, "Hey, are these two things actually the same?" And if they are, boom, you get a 1. If they aren't? Well, then you get a 2. Simple, right? But honestly, sometimes even the simplest stuff makes you pause for a second. Like, what if A1 is a number and B1 is text that looks like a number? Does Excel get confused? Does it throw a fit? I always find myself double-checking those little details! Anyway, just a random thought popping into my head while I was sipping my coffee this morning. Isn't math fun sometimes? Or maybe just... efficient? Who knows!

Thanks so much! 🙂

frozenraven10 said:Thanks a ton!
Now I'm hitting another wall here. I'm trying to get a function to count how many specific conditions have actually been met. I tried sketching out something like this:

=COUNT(IF(U22>W22;IF(W26>U26;IF(U30>W30😉))) but it's just not working...

Do you happen to know—or maybe someone else on here does—how I can pull this off?

Look, the IF function (the questioner) works like this: If a certain condition is met, do this; if it isn't, do something else (or ask again).

Dana Diaz8 said:Can you clarify what you mean? 😕

So, from what I can gather, you’ve got two columns and two separate rows, and you need to compare them against each other??? Now, my big question back to you is... what exactly are we comparing here? Are we talking about the entire column versus the whole row? Or maybe just one specific value in a column matched up against one value in a row? 😕 If you're working with numbers, why not just sum both columns and those two rows separately? You should end up with the same total, right? Or hey, just tell me exactly what you're trying to do with the comparison, and if I have a clue, I'll try my best to help you out!

Thanks for the offer to help—or was that an argument? Honestly, I spent way more time trying to wrap my head around this post than actually doing anything else! A simple "please clarify" would have done the trick perfectly. 🙂
But hey, Walter Jackson48 went ahead and solved my problem like it was nothing! 😉

Robert Hughes7 said:Good grief!
Do you happen to know where that setting actually lives? I'm running the American version here, so everything looks a bit different.
🙄

Format, Bullets and numbering...

driftingpilot8 said:I tried transcribing that formula you gave me, but those symbols kept throwing everything off. It just wouldn't work.

Here is the complete formula. It’s incredibly simple—almost obvious.

The logic is simple: if A1 matches B1, you get a 1. If they don't? You get a 2. It’s basic conditional logic in Excel. Why overcomplicate things?

Thanks! 🙂

Regardless of the outcome, I just don't get how you... The logic is simple: if A1 matches B1, you get a 1. If they don't match, you get a 2. Why overcomplicate things? It’s basic conditional logic. Does it work? Yes. Is it efficient? Absolutely. The formula isn't working. So why does the one you claim is complete and correct actually function? 🤷

Walter Jackson48 said:Format, Bullets and numbering...

Man, thanks a ton for that
best,
🙂

Alright, I’ve got a bit of an emergency on my hands and I really need some expert eyes on this—if anyone knows how to fix this, please jump in and save me! 🙂

So, here's the deal: I'm working in Excel and I've got this massive file with 60 different sheets, right? And all I want to do is print the whole thing... but when I head over to the print preview, the system is acting totally weird and tells me there are only 11 pages total. To make matters worse, it only actually prints those 11 pages and ignores the rest of my hard work 🤷
Does anyone know how to tweak the settings so it actually recognizes and prints every single page?

Thanks a million in advance

Dana Diaz8 said:I'm a bit out of the loop here—not really sure what we're discussing—but maybe one of these will help you out:
=COUNTIF(Range, Criteria) - counts cells in a Range that meet a specific Criteria
=COUNTA( ) – counts all non-empty cells

All good. Thanks a ton—and thanks to Walter Jackson48 too...

Is there an efficient way to prevent those pesky underlined hyperlinks from appearing when I copy and paste text, without having to manually retype everything word by word?

Just right-click it and select "remove hyperlink."

Just a quick attempt here:
I'll try hitting Edit, then Select All, then just copy and paste everything

Hey there!

I could really use some help here...
I've got an Excel file... one single column with about 15,000 rows filled with codes, formatted like 123-456-789-123...
The thing is, I need every single one of those 15,000 codes exported as a PDF, but with each individual code sitting on its own separate page. Is there a way to set it up so that when I save as a PDF, it treats 1 cell as 1 page?

One more thing... if I set the font to Myriad Pro 15... will the final PDF actually keep all those codes in Myriad Pro 15?

Thanks!

Hey everyone,
Here’s the situation. I have 30 different sheets, where each sheet represents a specific day of the month—so Sheet1 is the 1st, Sheet2 is the 2nd, and so on.
The structure is identical across all of them. One cell contains the day of the week, like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.
What I need is automation. If I enter "Monday" in Sheet1, I want the subsequent sheets to automatically populate with Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and so forth.
In other words, if I set the first day as Tuesday, the second should show Wednesday, the third should be Thursday, and so on.

🙂

brightcyclist2 said:Look, regardless of what the end result is, I just don't get it! How is this =IF(A1=B1;1;2) formula failing for you, while the one you're insisting is totally perfect works just fine? 🤷

I'm not claiming anything, really! It’s just how it looks on my screen.
🙂

I’m running into a frustrating issue in Microsoft Word. When I try to copy a specific block of text—let’s say "FIRST NAME LAST NAME" (set in size 12 Calibri with a red background)—and hit copy, the paste function completely strips everything away. It just gives me the plain "FIRST NAME LAST NAME" without any of the formatting inside the parentheses. To make matters worse, that little little icon that usually pops up after pasting to show you the paste options? It’s nowhere to be found. Should I be looking for a way to toggle that back on in the settings? I actually went to the Microsoft Office help section to troubleshoot this myself. They gave me the standard, textbook answer: go to the OFFICE tab, hit WORD OPTIONS, navigate to ADVANCED, and then check the settings for PASTING WITHIN THE SAME DOCUMENT. Well, guess what? I’ve already checked all those boxes, everything is set exactly how it should be, and yet it still refuses to work. Is there any other logical explanation for this? Or am I just fighting with the software for nothing?