Dans this juicy article, we’ll show you how to use the IF function with the not equal to operator to create a different IF formula in Google Sheets. We’ll provide examples and relevant images throughout the explanation.
Using Different IF in Google Sheets
1. Determine the Values to Compare
For our example, let’s compare the values in column B to the values in column A. We want to see when the two values are identical and display the result in column C.
2. Select an Empty Cell
To start, select cell C2 to compare the values in A2 and B2.
3. Use the Different IF Formula =IF(condition, value_if_true, value_if_false)
In Google Sheets, you can use the “IF” function to create a “Different IF” formula. The original syntax for the IF formula is:
=IF(condition, value_if_true, value_if_false)
Explanation of the formula:
- Condition: The logical operation that Google Sheets will use to determine if it’s true or false. We’ll use the “not equal to” operator by placing the “!=” brackets between the values we want to compare.
- Value_if_true: The cell display when the condition is satisfied. We want to display “Different” when the values are identical.
- Value_if_false: The cell display when the condition is not satisfied. We want to display “Identical” when the values are not identical.
So, our modified Different IF formula becomes:
=IF(Value1!=Value2, value_if_different, value_if_identical)
Which we can then apply to our example as follows:
=IF(A2!=B2, "Different", "Identical")
4. Copy/Drag Your Formula to Other Cells
Next, we’ll copy the formula from cell C3 to C16 and observe that when the values are not identical, column C displays “Different”.
Additional Tips:
- You can easily modify the formula to meet your specific needs. For example, you can use a cell reference, specific text, or another formula instead of a static value in the “condition”, “value_if_true”, and “value_if_false” arguments to create more complex logical operations.
- To use text values, simply enclose your values/words in quotation marks (“”), for example: A1!=”Complete”.
- For static cell references, where you want to compare all your values to a single cell reference, you can use the dollar sign “$” to ensure your values don’t change, for example: A1!=$B$1.
If you found this article helpful, you may also enjoy our article on how to check if a cell is empty in Google Sheets or our article on setting up the IF error in Google Sheets.
And for those interested in learning how to set up email validation in Google Sheets, we suggest checking out our detailed guide.
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