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Create conditional formulas

Applies to: Microsoft Office Excel 2003

Testing whether conditions are true or false and making logical comparisons between expressions are common to many tasks. You can use the AND, OR, NOT, and IF function to create conditional formulas.

The IF function uses the following arguments.

Formula with the IF function

Callout 1 logical_test: The condition that you want to check.

Callout 2 value_if_true: The value to return if the condition is true.

Callout 3 value_if_false: The value to return if the condition is false.

What do you want to do?

Create a conditional formula that results in a logical value (TRUE or FALSE)

Create a conditional formula that results in another calculation or in values other than TRUE or FALSE

Create a conditional formula that results in a logical value (TRUE or FALSE)

To do this task, use the AND, OR, and NOT functions, and operators (operator: A sign or symbol that specifies the type of calculation to perform within an expression. There are mathematical, comparison, logical, and reference operators.).

Example

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.

Show How to copy an example

Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
Select the example in the Help topic.
Note Do not select the row or column headers.

Selecting an example from Help
Press CTRL+C.
In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Tools menu, point to Formula Auditing, and then click Formula Auditing Mode.

1

2
3
4

A
Data
15
9
8
Sprockets
Widgets
Formula	Description (Result)
=AND(A2>A3, A2<A4)	Is 15 greater than 9 and less than 8? (FALSE)
=OR(A2>A3, A2<A4)	Is 15 greater than 9 or less than 8? (TRUE)
=NOT(A2+A3=24)	Is 15 plus 9 not equal to 24? (FALSE)
=NOT(A5="Sprockets")	Is A5 not equal to "Sprockets"? (FALSE)
=OR(A5<>"Sprockets",A6 = "Widgets")	Is A5 not equal to "Sprockets" or A6 equal to "Widgets"? (TRUE)

Function details

AND

NOT

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Create a conditional formula that results in another calculation or in values other than TRUE or FALSE

To do this task, use the IF, AND, and OR functions.

Example

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.

Show How to copy an example

Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
Select the example in the Help topic.
Note Do not select the row or column headers.

Selecting an example from Help
Press CTRL+C.
In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Tools menu, point to Formula Auditing, and then click Formula Auditing Mode.

1

2
3
4

A
Data
15
9
8
Sprockets
Widgets
Formula	Description (Result)
=IF(A2=15, "OK", "Not OK")	If the value in cell A2 equals 15, then return "OK". (OK)
=IF(A2<>15, "OK", "Not OK")	If the value in cell A2 is not equal to 15, then return "OK". (Not OK)
=IF(NOT(A2<=15), "OK", "Not OK")	If the value in cell A2 is not less than or equal to 15, then return "OK". (Not OK)
=IF(A5<>"SPROCKETS", "OK", "Not OK")	If the value in cell A5 is not equal to "SPROCKETS", then return "OK". (Not OK)
=IF(AND(A2>A3, A2<A4), "OK", "Not OK")	If 15 is greater than 9 and less than 8, then return "OK". (Not OK)
=IF(AND(A2<>A3, A2<>A4), "OK", "Not OK")	If 15 is not equal to 9 and 15 is not equal to 8, then return "OK". (OK)
=IF(OR(A2>A3, A2<A4), "OK", "Not OK")	If 15 is greater than 9 or less than 8, then return "OK". (OK)
=IF(OR(A5<>"Sprockets", A6<>"Widgets"), "OK", "Not OK")	If the value in cell A5 is not equal to "Sprockets" or "Widgets", then return "OK". (Not OK)
=IF(OR(A2<>A3, A2<>A4), "OK", "Not OK")	If 15 is not equal to 9 or 15 is not equal to 8, then return "OK". (OK)

Function details

AND

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