How to remove duplicate strings in two columns (Two adjacent cells) then add into another

Joe Suh

Column 1

Dog Cat Mouse

Column 2

Dog Cat Pig

Column 3 (result)

Dog Cat Pig Mouse

Genevieve P.

Hi @Joe Suh

There isn't one direct function that can easily do this, but there are potential formula solutions that we could build out for a similar result.

How many values do you have in your actual Column 1 and Column 2? Are these set values to be selected every time, or could new values be added in each row?

The reason I ask is because if you knew your set values for each of the columns, you could build a long IF statement to return a value IF it is contained in either of the columns.

Ex:

=IF(OR(CONTAINS("Dog", [Column 1]@row), CONTAINS("Dog", [Column 2]@row)), "Dog") + IF(OR(CONTAINS("Cat", [Column 1]@row), CONTAINS("Cat", [Column 2]@row)), " Cat") + IF(OR(CONTAINS("Mouse", [Column 1]@row), CONTAINS("Mouse", [Column 2]@row)), " Mouse") + IF(OR(CONTAINS("Pig", [Column 1]@row), CONTAINS("Pig", [Column 2]@row)), " Pig")

Does that make sense? Would this be feasible with your current columns and values?

Cheers!

Genevieve

Joe Suh

My God this is the most unsmart way... we have multiple lists that are in excess of 30 lines.. I will pass.