I need help assigning a value to a character

B

billybob

I need to format a cell so that if I enter an upper case "Y" it display
the "Y" but the cell thinks the value of the "Y" is "1" so that it ca
be added in another function elsewhere. I have tried to use the "IF
functions but have had no success as of yet. HELP
 
J

Jim May

in cell a11 type in
=SUM(IF(A1:A10="Y",1,0)) as one line;
DO NOT PRESS ENTER
but instead press simultaneously the CONTROL KEY + SHIFTKEY+ENTER
This will create a Control array formula (CSE).
HTH
 
E

Earl Kiosterud

BillyBob,

If the cell contains a Y, it contains a Y. You'd use an IF in a formula
elsewhere that want's to know, like:

=IF(A1 = "Y", 1, 0)

That one isn't case-sensitive. For upper-case Y only, use:

=IF( CODE(A1) = 89, 1, 0)
 
D

Dave Peterson

I don't think you'll succeed with formatting alone.

But you could use a helper cell:
=if(a1="y",1,0)

You could put this in column B and hide that column, but use B1 for the
subsequent formulas.
 
D

Dave Peterson

Just this portion:
=IF( CODE(A1) = 89, 1, 0)
Click to expand...

Maybe:

=IF(CODE(A1) = code("Y"), 1, 0)
or to avoid an error if A1 is empty:
=IF(CODE(A1&" ") = code("Y"), 1, 0)

Just a little easier to read (for me anyway).

And one more way:

=if(EXACT(A1,"Y")=True,1,0)
or
=--EXACT(A1,"Y")
 
E

Earl Kiosterud

Dave,

Oops. You're absolutely right. I didn't test it with an empty cell.

We can shorten =IF(EXACT(A1,"Y")=TRUE,1,0)
to =IF(EXACT(A1,"Y"),1,0)

=--EXACT(A1,"Y") is very cool, but a bit more cryptic for some.

The real heck of it is that the OP may realize that demanding an upper-case
Y may cause problems when users use lower-case, and he'll change the
requirement. After all our work, we'll wind up with good old

=IF(A1 = "Y", 1, 0)

:)
 
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