Microsoft KB Archive/24666

{| = Excel: Creating Criteria to Find Numbers or Text in Field =
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Last reviewed: October 31, 1994

Article ID: Q24666

SUMMARY
To extract records from a Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh version 1.0. 1.03, 1.04, 1.06, 1.5, 2.2, or 3.0 database based on whether a field in the record contains a number or text, use a computed criteria with the TYPE function.

For example, to find all records that contain a number in the "CODE" field of the following database, a computed criteria has been created in E1:E2:

+---+---+--+---+-+  |   |     A     |     B    | D |      E      | +---+---+--+---+-+  | 1 | NAME      | CODE     |   |             | +---+---+--+---+-+  | 2 | Sam       |      156 |   | =TYPE(B2)=1 | +---+---+--+---+-+  | 3 | Nancy     |   34a-12 |   |             | +---+---+--+---+-+  | 4 | Fred      |    10021 |   |             | +---+---+--+---+-+  | 5 | Carol     |    7b-15 |   |             | +---+---+--+---+-+ To find all records that contain a text string in the "CODE" field of the database, you must enter the formula =TYPE(B2)=2 in cell E2 of the computed criteria. To define the criteria range, select cells E1:E2 and choose Set Criteria from the Data menu.

MORE INFORMATION
When creating a computed criteria, you must observe the following rules:


 * 1) The field name of the computed criteria must be different from any of the field names in the database. In the above example, E1 is left blank.
 * 2) You must use a relative reference to the first record in the field of the database you want to reference in the formula. For example, B2 is a relative reference to the first record in the "CODE" field in the formula =TYPE(B2)=1.

For more information on the TYPE function, see page 240 of the "Microsoft Excel Function Reference" version 3.0 manual. If you are using Excel 2.2, see page 88 of the "Microsoft Excel Functions and Macros" version 2.2 manual. Note: This information also applies to Microsoft Excel for Windows versions 2.1, 2.1c, and 3.0, and to Microsoft Excel for OS/2 versions 2.2, 2.21, and 3.0.
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