CONTAINS Function

Is used within another function to search for a character or string. It will return "True" if it found the character or string. Otherwise, it will return "False."
Sample Usage
IF(CONTAINS("Jacket", [Clothing Item]:[Clothing Item]), "True", "False")
Syntax
CONTAINS(
  • search_for
  • range
)
  • search_for
    —
    The text or a cell reference to find
  • range
    —
    The group of cells to evaluate
Examples

This example references the following sheet information:

Row #Clothing ItemUnits SoldSold DateStatus
1T-Shirt7802/12/19 10:23 PMGreen
2Pants4202/15/19 1:55 AMRed
3Jacket21702/20/19 2:45 PMYellow

Given the table above, here are some examples of using CONTAINS in a sheet:

FormulaDescriptionResult
=SUMIF([Clothing Item]:[Clothing Item], CONTAINS("T-Shirt", @cell), [Units Sold]:[Units Sold])

Sums the cell values in the Units Sold column if the adjacent cell in the Clothing Item column of the same row contains the value T-Shirt.

Row 1 meets this criteria.

78
=COUNTIFS([Sold Date]:[Sold Date], CONTAINS("1:55 AM", @cell))

Counts the cell values in the Sold Date column that contains the value 1:55 AM.

Row 2 meets the criteria.

1
=IF(CONTAINS("Jacket", [Clothing Item]:[Clothing Item]), "True", "False")

If the value Jacket is contained within a cell of the Clothing Item column produce the value True.

Row 3 meets this criteria.

True

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