Excel wildcard not working. Get expert tips, ask questions, and share your l...
Excel wildcard not working. Get expert tips, ask questions, and share your love for all things Excel. May 30, 2025 · Wildcards only work with text, so Excel automatically converts numbers to text when using wildcard patterns. Trouble with XMATCH using multiple criteria and a wildcard I have a dynamic spreadsheet where formula input data is designed to change based on user inputs. Master asterisk, question mark & tilde wildcards for efficient lookups. In these cases, COUNTIF might return an unexpected value. The IF() function, for example, doesn't directly accept wildcards, requiring workarounds like combining it with COUNTIF() as demonstrated earlier. I think you are trying to figure whether any of the words in column A of code can be found in A2 of desc. Mar 14, 2023 · Everything you need to know about wildcards: what wildcard characters Excel recognizes, and how to best use them with built-in features and in formulas with text and numbers. chatGPT, BARD, GPT4 etc) to create forum answers is not permitted. Oct 11, 2019 · It always works like a charm, but, this year I've added two new categories "P-8" and "T-8" (the number 8 can range from 1-8, hence why i'm trying to use the asterisk) and it's not working with the asterisk. If the 12345 is formatted as text, or prefixed by ' in the cell, it will be found. It will help you look up a value Jul 3, 2024 · What to Do If SUMIFS Function with Wildcard Is Not Working in Excel Steps: Insert the following formula. Use the TEXT () function to convert numbers before applying wildcard operations for consistent results. I know this is something to do with it being a wildcard character but I don't know how to fix it. The TRANSPOSE function is optional and used here only to convert the result from XLOOKUP to a vertical array. Guide to Wildcard in Excel. 3 1. (In bold below) What am I doing wrong? I'm having trouble with lines 5 and 6. We Want The Cup. I'm following this guide. Apr 24, 2021 · Sumproduct with a wildcard condition Dear community, I'm struggling with a formula where I want to use a wildcard condition to sum and multiply values if the corresponding month is mentioned. Users can use the VLOOKUP wildcard characters in scenarios such as looking up the first name in a lookup range of texts containing first and last names. Try using this: <> That means: "is not blank" Biff Microsoft MVP Excel Keep It Simple Stupid Let's Go Pens. In this article, we will highlight some of the possible reasons for this and the solutions to fix those issues. Mar 26, 2019 · Become an Excel wildcard wizard with our comprehensive guide! Learn how to master wildcard characters in Excel for efficient data analysis. For more about using wildcard characters with the Find and Replace features in Excel, see Find or replace text and numbers on a worksheet. The * should be any characters, including no characters. And wildcards work well for numeric and text values. In Excel, it’s common practice to conduct a search or filter based on a partial match in formulas like SUMIF or COUNTIF. =XLOOKUP (1,1/COUNTIF (D2,"asterisk"&A1&"asterisk"),B1) Please explain why it doesn't w Nov 26, 2025 · Struggling with SUMIF not recognizing wildcards in Excel? This article offers four effective solutions to fix the issue, ensuring your wildcard criteria work seamlessly. Here we discuss two wildcard characters - Asterisk (*) & Question Mark(?), examples & downloadable excel template. Apparently, Excel wildcards can only search a certain number of characters. Attache is the excel file. You either use SEARCH to see if the text exists within the other string, or COUNTIF using asterisks around the text. May 12, 2020 · Re: vlookup with wildcard not working I have uploaded a spreadsheet with both the new and previous formula. Examples of wildcard character pattern matching in expressions To use a wildcard character within a pattern: Open your query in Design view. The table it is linking to is as follows C 7 B 8 A 9 A* 10 It all pulls through fine, it gives me 7 if one column contains Examples of wildcard character pattern matching in expressions To use a wildcard character within a pattern: Open your query in Design view. Apr 23, 2021 · Here, running Word 2019, the Find & Replace is working as expected, assuming (of course) that I remember to select the "Use wildcards" check box in the Find & Replace dialog box. Nov 21, 2011 · No, there is no CONTAINS function in Excel, nor INSTRING, although this is available as Instr in VBA. I am aware the wildcards do not work on numbers but even if I change column data type to "Text" - it still doesn't work correctly. My data includes values like: 1. In this video I demonstrate how to perform a wildcard "contains" test in an IF statement. Column 1 has names in it, Column 2 has dates (in this very format, no spaces between the characters). If you have numeric values, use logical operators in the formula. Forum Microsoft Office Application Help - Excel Help forum Excel Formulas & Functions [SOLVED] Wildcard not working in my COUNTIFS The use of AI tools (e. Replace one or more characters in the criteria with a wildcard character. Remember Excel’s wildcard characters? If we use wildcard characters with SUMIF, we can sum values using partial criteria and the good news is Jan 11, 2022 · But as @Anonymous suggested the wildcard filter are not available directly in power query, maybe we can use it with dax if you can share your pbix or data in excel for me to try. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. These can also be used in the Conditional Formatting rules that use the "Only format cells that contain specific text" criteria. The conditional function like COUNTIF,AND,OR, SEARCH are used here. Forum Microsoft Office Application Help - Excel Help forum Excel Programming / VBA / Macros [SOLVED] finding string with wildcard in for each loop The use of AI tools (e. Wildcard characters are all about searching a text with a partial match. However, for some reason my Excel doesn't think the words in the range are equal to the criteri Sep 1, 2014 · I know that Excel does not support wildcard conditions for numbers, however, I have formatted column B as type "Text" in Excel, so I thought it would be treated as such, but it appears that it is still treated as an int. SUMIF Wildcards Not Working Hello, I cannot get the SUMIF wildcards working correctly. May 6, 2023 · In the following example the implicit wild cards do work when COUNTIF is involved. In this guide, we're going to show you how to use Wildcard criteria in Excel formulas. Example: How many of the following numbers have a 0 in the 9th position and a 1 in the 10th position (the underlined numbers contain the 01 sequence?) Use wildcard characters as comparison criteria for text filters and when you're searching and replacing content. Instead, we can combine the IF function with the COUNTIF function, which does support wildcards. When counting text values, make sure the data doesn’t contain leading spaces, trailing spaces, inconsistent use of straight and curly quotation marks, or nonprinting characters. Using Excel's wildcard character At times, you may want to use certain string matching or search functions — like SEARCH — without knowing exactly what you're looking for. In this tutorial, I will show you four examples where these Excel wildcard characters are absolute lifesavers. There will also be solutions covering case sensitivity. In this post, you will learn how to use wildcard characters in Excel. Jun 12, 2007 · I am trying to do a find replace on formulas that include * for multiplication. My work-around was to make another row in the lookup table for "Widgets" and put half the products in the first row and the rest in the second. 1 1. Struggling with SUMIF wildcard issues in Excel? Discover four effective solutions to fix common problems where wildcards like "*" or "?" don't work as expected, ensuring your SUMIF function accurately sums data based on flexible criteria. Jul 29, 2025 · Trying to use either xlookup or index/match look up % from table with using wildcards on the lookup value. g. The difference is that the SEARCH function supports wildcards but is not case-sensitive, while the FIND function is case-sensitive but does not support wildcards. If a user is believed to have used such tools to provide a forum answer, sanctions may be imposed. Using a wildcard symbol, you can change one or more characters in a string of text. Wildcards are special characters that allow you to perform “fuzzy” matching on text in your formulas. Forum Microsoft Office Application Help - Excel Help forum Excel Formulas & Functions [SOLVED] IF statement with a Wildcard not working, workaround? The use of AI tools (e. Nov 11, 2025 · Unfortunately, sometimes it may seem that the Excel COUNTIF formula with wildcard is not working as expected. In the example shown, the formula in H7 is: =TRANSPOSE((XLOOKUP(H4,D5:D15,B5:E15,"Not found",2))) which performs a wildcard match with the value in H4 and returns all 4 fields as the result. . In this section, we’ll cover the available wildcards, for example, wildcard usage and functions that support wildcards. Jul 31, 2024 · VLOOKUP with wildcard in Excel is done by applying single wildcard and using multiple wildcards and how to avoid wildcards is also discussed Nov 26, 2025 · Struggling with SUMIF not recognizing wildcards in Excel? This article offers four effective solutions to fix the issue, ensuring your wildcard criteria work seamlessly. More general information on formula criteria here. Jul 6, 2024 · We have discussed 5 methods to use the wildcard in IF statement in Excel. 16 teams will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Aug 1, 2018 · B M VBA comparing cell values dosen't work consistantly michaelehoudek Mar 26, 2024 Excel Questions Replies 6 Views 783 Mar 27, 2024 michaelehoudek Jan 6, 2020 · Wildcard represents one or more other characters. Wildcards only work with text. Excel has three wildcard characters, and they only work with text, not numbers. Encountering issues with COUNTIF and wildcards in Excel? Ensure your syntax is correct—use asterisks (*) for partial matches and double quotes around criteria. Oct 21, 2025 · Wildcards in Excel are special characters that can stand in for other characters in a text string. May 11, 2024 · To perform a partial match with XLOOKUP, supply 2 for the match mode argument to allow wildcards. Why is my wildcard not working Excel? 2 Answers. For numeric data, you can use logical operators. I am trying to use the wildcards to show any courses that someone has achieved a grade in. Make sure your data doesn’t contain erroneous characters. In the example above it is looking for "*Elevator 456*" in column A of sheet code. Dec 29, 2023 · If you know how your search value starts or ends, but not sure about what's in between, you can find that with a wildcard search in Excel. For an example, see the section Wildcard criteria. Nov 16, 2022 · SUMIF Wildcards Not Working Hello, I cannot get the SUMIF wildcards working correctly. However, for some reason my Excel doesn't think the words in the range are equal to the criteri Jul 6, 2024 · We have discussed 5 methods to use the wildcard in IF statement in Excel. Using pre-defined names You can name a range Criteria, and the reference for the range will appear automatically in the Criteria Jul 30, 2012 · Re: problem with using asterisk as wildcard in conditional formatting Thanks for the response dilipandey, but if you look at the end of my post I do know that the ISNUMBER and SEARCH functions provide a way to do this, I was just curious as to why the asterisk was seemingly working well when using the SUMIF yet wasn't when attempting to use it What Is VLOOKUP With Wildcard in Excel? The VLOOKUP wildcard characters enable one to lookup value using the VLOOKUP () with a partial match. I validated the function by trying it on a text string and it worked. May 10, 2025 · Re: The Wildcard * is not working on INDEX and XMATCH Could you provide a worksheet that shows the problem, please? This one doesn't have any formula with a wildcard or partial names. It's all working fine apart from the *. When I try to do a find replace of '*12' it replaces everything prior to the *12 since the * is flagged as the wildcard Re: VLOOKUP - Wildcard not working Yes, the wildcard in VLOOKUP works the other way around from what you are thinking. 2 and my current wildcard is {"1. The format is a set bracket that is largely division-based with wild cards. COUNTIFS Using Wildcard & Blank Cells as an argument! Not Working! Please Help! URGENT! By WaylettChris in forum Excel Formulas & Functions Replies: 1 Last Post: 08-08-2014, 07:53 AM Feb 12, 2025 · Excel contains two functions designed to check the occurrence of one text string inside another: the SEARCH function and the FIND function. The top three teams in each division will make up the first 12 teams Feb 18, 2020 · Can I use wildcards with the new FILTER function I want to be able to filter a list that contains cells with lengthy text strings in them such as "12:15 to 12:35 Meeting with (Sponsor 1) at table (2) (Delegate Request)". Jun 5, 2014 · I even tried multiplying (6&"*")* 1 to convert back to a number but it doesn't work :P If I want to exclude a certain number in one of the argument of the SUMIFS formula from above then I would put <>6201, without any quotes, correct? Nov 11, 2014 · Re: Advanced filtering - wildcards not working. You can use them to find and replace text, match patterns, and more. Learn how to use the wildcard characters in Excel with real example formulas and practice exercises. Guide to VLOOKUP Wildcard. Here is a list of the most common functions that do: AVERAGEIF, AVERAGEIFS COUNTIF, COUNTIFS MATCH MAXIFS, MINIFS SEARCH SUMIF, SUMIFS VLOOKUP Jul 13, 2024 · Learn how to use wildcards with XLOOKUP in Excel for powerful, flexible data searches. The issue is with the lookup being a # that is format to general. But the way i seem to have it set up does not work only works if i put in say a grade like E instead of the wildcard. 3*"} - which picks up the last two, but not the first. In the Criteria row of the field that you want to use, type the operator Like in front of your criteria. Aug 5, 2025 · We explain different types of Excel VLOOKUP wildcard. this should have worked the other way around using wildcard. Epocrates Use wildcard characters as comparison criteria for text filters and when you're searching and replacing content. Mar 17, 2014 · I am building an excel report that uses a couple of data validation filters and formulas that reference them. But it will not see "no characters". To which version have you updated? In Word, click File > Account and note that version and build number next to the About Word button. Think of them as “jokers” you can use in your formulas. You cannot use the wildcard characters *, ! in a logical test. May 18, 2023 · The IF function doesn't support wildcards directly, so we can't use IF by itself. We also share examples for each wildcard and explain how to troubleshoot any issues. Aug 1, 2024 · Discover the power of wildcards in Excel! Our comprehensive guide covers how to use them to enhance your data searches and streamline your spreadsheet tasks. Asterisk (*) The asterisk character means any number of characters in the world of a wildcard search. Sep 26, 2021 · In MS Excel, I'm trying to make a wildcard search using the SUMIF function. I'm guessing that by using the wildcard you want that to mean: show all rows that are not empty. Power BI - Wildcard - count partial match with multiple criteria Hi, I am looking for a way to count partial match with multiple criteria. With a bit of creativity, you will learn in this article how to perform “Begins With”, “Ends With”, “Contains”, and “Does Not Contain” search criteria, so that you can carry out more complex filtering with your dynamic array formulas. Unleash Excel's potential with wildcards! Explore advanced formulas, solve common issues, and boost productivity by using wildcard in excel. Functions that support wildcards Not all functions allow wildcards. May 6, 2020 · Re: vlookup with wildcard not working I have uploaded a spreadsheet with both the new and previous formula. Nov 5, 2014 · I am doing a vlookup. Here's my situation: I have two columns. Jun 5, 2014 · I even tried multiplying (6&"*")* 1 to convert back to a number but it doesn't work :P If I want to exclude a certain number in one of the argument of the SUMIFS formula from above then I would put <>6201, without any quotes, correct? When filtering text data, Excel doesn't distinguish between uppercase and lowercase characters. Jan 9, 2005 · The use of AI tools (e. Jul 24, 2014 · Learn how to use wildcards with VLOOKUP in Excel to efficiently search and match data, expanding your data lookup capabilities. I've tried Index/Match formulas but am challenged because I also need this to be a wildcard search. Jun 14, 2016 · The way Excel implements the * wildcard is fundamentally wrong, in my opinion. Feb 22, 2020 · Conditional formatting with wildcard is it possible to fill the row with *New* excel kudo count 4 Replies Sep 26, 2021 · In MS Excel, I'm trying to make a wildcard search using the SUMIF function. Apr 2, 2025 · In File Explorer, the asterisk (*) is used as a wildcard to represent any number of characters, but the percentage sign (%) is not a standard wildcard for file searching. A lot of cells that have *12, *11, *10, etc. Is there a different way of applying a wildcard condition in =SUMIFS for number values in Excel? Mar 26, 2019 · Become an Excel wildcard wizard with our comprehensive guide! Learn how to master wildcard characters in Excel for efficient data analysis. By using wildcards with VLOOKUP you can win all those situations where it's hard to use VLOOKUP. Below the formula is working for one criteria. Jul 29, 2024 · In this article, we have discussed how to use SUMIFS with not equal to text criteria. Does the COUNTIF function with wildcard characters not work with numbers? Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer. If the 12345 in A2 is a number, a wildcard xlookup won't find it. The workaround is to use SEARCH and ISNUMBER. Learn how to use wildcard characters in Excel to save time when working with formulas. 3. Which leads to many complicated index matches pulling data from source data. Elevate your spreadsheet skills with us! There are only 3 Excel wildcard characters (asterisk, question mark, and tilde) and a lot can be done using these. However, you can use a formula to perform a case-sensitive search. Read it all along and use in your cases. Wildcards frequently used include anasterisk(*), question mark(?), and tilde(~). Sep 18, 2024 · Excel Wildcard characters and Examples As we mentioned above, wildcards only work with text. In other words, for January, I want to wildcard *Jan*, for February it's *Feb* and so on. The first one in my report works perfectly; it's a dropdown where you select an employee name and a table populates their individual metrics based on which employee is selectedif you select the wildcard asterisk in the data A vibrant community of Excel enthusiasts. and I want to replace all of these to be *1. Properly configured, COUNTIF with wildcards can efficiently count cells matching patterns, resolving common frustrations in data analysis. This is an array formula. In Excel, you can use three different wildcards to build a formula. Learn practical tips to enhance your spreadsheet's accuracy and efficiency today! Wildcard issue for Index/Match Function when searching numbers By rethish in forum Excel General Replies: 4 Last Post: 04-02-2012, 01:19 AM Oct 6, 2022 · This tutorial explains how to use wildcard characters in an Excel FILTER function, including examples. I have this column: I would like to find any one of these items in column H's text and return it in the corresponding row in column I: ie Mar 25, 2024 · Wildcard characters not working in COUNTIFS function Hi y'all, this was a real brain scratcher for me, I gave up and went to the internet looking for answers. So if you have the data (text): 747, 747-100, 747-200 the formula COUNTIF (range,"747*") will return 2, instead of 3. Here is a list of the most common functions that do: AVERAGEIF, AVERAGEIFS COUNTIF, COUNTIFS MATCH MAXIFS, MINIFS SEARCH SUMIF, SUMIFS VLOOKUP Jul 31, 2024 · VLOOKUP with wildcard in Excel is done by applying single wildcard and using multiple wildcards and how to avoid wildcards is also discussed Aug 23, 2022 · Unfortunately, Excel’s Filter function does not perform partial-match or wildcard searches. Note: for number values that have already been entered, just formatting them as text won't work, you have to edit the cell and confirm it after formatting it. Mar 14, 2023 · The tutorial shows how to make Excel IF statement with wildcard text and get it to work for partial matches. Jun 23, 2024 · Also, your VLOOKUP() function is not working because, the lookup value you have is a string of words while the keywords is one single word here. Here we discuss how to use Wildcard Characters in Excel along with examples and downloadable excel template. Apr 20, 2021 · Hello, I hope someone can help me with this please. It is an INDEX XMATCH XMATCH With multiple criteria and a wildcard. Below is the formula i am having trouble with. Learn practical tips to enhance your spreadsheet's accuracy and efficiency today! Aug 23, 2022 · Unfortunately, Excel’s Filter function does not perform partial-match or wildcard searches. If you’re an Excel user, you’ve probably heard of wildcards. They are incredibly useful for finding, filtering, or matching data when you only have a partial match. In Excel this is working for me but not in Power BI {"combi", "test"} Formula: Forum Microsoft Office Application Help - Excel Help forum Excel Formulas & Functions [SOLVED] If text does not contain (wildcard), return value of cell The use of AI tools (e. Use wildcard characters as comparison criteria for text filters and when you're searching and replacing content. It will help you look up a value Nov 14, 2023 · This tutorial explains how to use the XLOOKUP function in Excel with wildcard characters, including an example. Excel wildcards Excel supports three wildcards that can be used in formulas: Asterisk (*) - zero or more characters Question mark (?) - any one character May 26, 2023 · The problem is that wildcard searches find only text results. May 30, 2025 · Not all Excel functions support wildcard functionality, which can create confusion when you expect certain formulas to work with pattern matching. the new formula doesn't seem t be working on my spreadsheet. 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