This summary of the video was created by an AI. It might contain some inaccuracies.
00:00:00 – 00:16:23
The video tutorial covers various techniques for searching and matching text within Excel and Google Sheets. The presenter demonstrates using the `MATCH` function with wildcards, such as the asterisk (*) and question mark (?), to perform partial matches and handle various text patterns. The use of `ISNUMBER` and `IF` functions is shown to convert match results into Boolean values and make meaningful decisions based on those results.
A key aspect discussed is making search functions dynamic, incorporating user-inputted search terms and maintaining formula consistency with cell references. For more advanced text patterns, including case-insensitive and complex pattern matches, the tutorial shifts to using regular expressions (`REGEXMATCH` in Google Sheets).
Important terms introduced include wildcards, regular expressions, and specific characters like the caret (^) for start of text, dollar sign ($) for end of text, and `s` for matching spaces. Practical examples involving occupations, street addresses, and other text scenarios illustrate these concepts. The overall theme is leveraging built-in functions and regular expressions to create flexible, powerful search capabilities in spreadsheets.
00:00:00
In this part of the video, the presenter demonstrates how to check if a particular text contains a specific word or phrase in both Excel and Google Sheets. The example used is to check if a list of occupations contains the word “specialist.” Initially, the `MATCH` function is employed, which typically searches for an exact match. The demonstration shows that wildcards can be used with the `MATCH` function to perform a “contains” search. The presenter shows that by using `*specialist*`, the function can find the word “specialist” within any text. They also demonstrate how to convert the results to `TRUE` or `FALSE` using the `ISNUMBER` function to avoid dealing with `N/A` values.
00:03:00
In this part of the video, the speaker explains the use of wildcards in the match function. They demonstrate how to search for text that starts with, ends with, or contains the word “specialist” by manipulating the placement of the asterisk (*) wildcard. For instance, placing the asterisk at the end searches for text starting with “specialist”, while placing it at the beginning searches for text ending with “specialist”. The speaker also shows how to insert the asterisk between letters to match any text containing “sP” followed by any characters and then “list”. Furthermore, the speaker introduces another wildcard, the question mark (?), to match single characters, illustrating its use in various scenarios to find specific text patterns.
00:06:00
In this part of the video, the presenter demonstrates how to use a match function to find instances where a street address starts with four characters followed by a space. They explain the use of question marks to represent single characters and a star to signify zero or more additional characters. They show how to convert the match results into Boolean values (true or false) using the ‘is number’ function and drag it to apply across multiple cells. Additionally, the presenter elaborates on incorporating these results into an ‘if’ function to return specific outputs like “yes” or “no” based on whether the condition is met, particularly focusing on addresses containing the word “specialist”. The segment concludes with an explanation of labeling columns and linking to other parts of the sheet.
00:09:00
In this segment of the video, the speaker explains how to create a flexible search formula in Excel or Google Sheets that can adapt based on the search term typed in a specific cell. They describe using concatenation to add wildcard characters (stars) around the search term to handle partial matches. The speaker locks the cell with dollar signs to ensure the formula references remain consistent when dragged down. For Google Sheets, the tutorial introduces the `REGEXMATCH` function which simplifies complex matching by using regular expressions. This allows for more sophisticated search patterns like matching text that starts with a specific term. Overall, the segment emphasizes making the search dynamic and adaptable.
00:12:00
In this segment of the video, the speaker explains how to utilize regular expressions to match specific patterns in text, with a focus on achieving case-insensitive matches. They demonstrate how to match strings that end with a specific word using the dollar sign and how to avoid case sensitivity by converting text to lowercase. Additionally, the speaker illustrates how to construct a regular expression to match street addresses that begin with three or four digits, detailing the use of the caret symbol and curly brackets for specifying the digit count. The explanation includes practical examples and the outcomes of applying these expressions.
00:15:00
In this part of the video, the speaker demonstrates adding a space to refine a text-matching process. They explain two methods: typing a literal space or using the regular expression space character `s`. The speaker notes that while using regular expressions can offer more flexibility, it requires learning the syntax. For those interested, the speaker mentions having additional videos on regular expressions in Google Sheets. They then show how to incorporate this into an `IF` function to identify three to four-digit numbers, resulting in a “yes” or “no” output. The video ends with a thank-you message and a subscription request.