There is one combination function used for checking if a cell contains specific text in excel. This is the combination of ISNUMBER and SEARCH Functions in excel. We need to combine these formulas because there is no outright contains function. Not to worry however, the combo of the SEARCH & ISNUMBER Functions can achieve this perfectly. Let’s start with SEARCH Function and then combine with the ISNUMBER function.
SEARCH Function
The excel search function is used to return the position of a substring in a text string, assuming the substring is contained in the text string.
If the substring is not contained within the Text string, we get a #VALUE error as seen in the screenshot above. Please note that you can manually input the substring within the SEARCH function:
Now that we have treated the Search function, let’s move on to the ISNUMBER function.
ISNUMBER Function
The ISNUMBER function returns whether or not a cell contains a numerical value. If the cell contains a numerical value, it returns true, however if the cell does not contain a numerical value, it returns false. Let’s see an example below:
Combining to check specific text
The two formulas can be combined to return a definite True or False for whether a substring is contained in a text string. Let’s see some examples
Customizing the result
The output message (“True” / “False”) can be customized by introducing an IF statement.
