Remove duplicates in one column within a range of dates in another column

[Guest]

Hello,

This is how my data is broken down:
Column A - random digits of length 8
Column B - dates (ex. 9/3, 9/4, 9/5)

I'd like to remove duplicates from Column A within a date. Steps are:
1) De-dupe the Column A values that have 9/3 in Column B. Do no
consider any data from 9/4 or 9/5 during the dedupe process.
2) Rinse, repeat for 9/4 and 9/5.

How might I go about doing this in an efficient manner?

Thank you for your help in advance!
dav

 

[benmcclave]

Davy,

I'd use Advanced Filter. Highlight the range with your data and click Data>Advanced (from the Sort & Filter group). You may either filter the list in place or copy it to a new location in your workbook. Ignore the criteriarange,and fill in the "Copy to" range if you are putting the results elsewhere in your book. Finally, be sure to check the box for "Unique records only" and click OK.

Hope this helps,

Ben

 

[Ron Rosenfeld]

Hello,

This is how my data is broken down:
Column A - random digits of length 8
Column B - dates (ex. 9/3, 9/4, 9/5)

I'd like to remove duplicates from Column A within a date. Steps are:
1) De-dupe the Column A values that have 9/3 in Column B. Do not
consider any data from 9/4 or 9/5 during the dedupe process.
2) Rinse, repeat for 9/4 and 9/5.

How might I go about doing this in an efficient manner?

Thank you for your help in advance!
davy

If you have Excel 2007 or later, there is a "Remove Duplicates" item on the Data menu on the ribbon. It allows you to choose the columns to process. In your case, you would select column A and column B

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies!

However, there's one subtle issue that makes this issue more complex.
I'd like to de-dupe Column A as defined by the date in Column B.

The equivalent manual process is to copy all rows with 9/3 to anothe
sheet and de-dupe Column A. Repeat for different dates 9/4 and 9/5

 

[Ron Rosenfeld]

Thanks for the replies!

However, there's one subtle issue that makes this issue more complex.
I'd like to de-dupe Column A as defined by the date in Column B.

The equivalent manual process is to copy all rows with 9/3 to another
sheet and de-dupe Column A. Repeat for different dates 9/4 and 9/5.

Either I am not understanding what you want, or you are not understanding the process I recommend.

What happened when you tried the process I recommended?

Since the process I recommended compares both columns A & B, it shouldl only dedupe for matches in column A with the same date in column B. There is no need to do this one at a time.

If you are still having a problem, please post a copy of a sample file to a publically accessible web site (e.g. Skydrive), and show before and after examples of what you want. Post the link here.

 

[Guest]

Wow, I completely mis-understood what that Remove Duplicates dialog bo
was asking for. I originally thought it was asking me which column I'
like to de-dup independently of the other selections until you've showe
me the light

Thank you Ron. You've just saved me days, if not weeks of my life

-dav

;1605274']On Thu, 6 Sep 2012 19:33:03 +0000, spamdav

Thanks for the replies

However, there's one subtle issue that makes this issue more complex.
I'd like to de-dupe Column A as defined by the date in Column B.

The equivalent manual process is to copy all rows with 9/3 to anothe
sheet and de-dupe Column A. Repeat for different dates 9/4 and 9/5.

Either I am not understanding what you want, or you are no
understanding the process I recommend

What happened when you tried the process I recommended

Since the process I recommended compares both columns A & B, it should
only dedupe for matches in column A with the same date in column B.
There is no need to do this one at a time

If you are still having a problem, please post a copy of a sample fil
to a publically accessible web site (e.g. Skydrive), and show before an
after examples of what you want. Post the link here

 

[Ron Rosenfeld]

Wow, I completely mis-understood what that Remove Duplicates dialog box
was asking for. I originally thought it was asking me which column I'd
like to de-dup independently of the other selections until you've showed
me the light.

Thank you Ron. You've just saved me days, if not weeks of my life!

Glad to help and happy that you've got it to work for you. Thanks for the feedback.
-- Ron