This article describes the formula syntax and usage of the EXACT function in Microsoft Excel.
Description
Compares two text strings and returns TRUE if they are exactly the same, FALSE otherwise. EXACT is case-sensitive but ignores formatting differences. Use EXACT to test text being entered into a document.
Syntax
EXACT(text1, text2)
The EXACT function syntax has the following arguments:
-
Text1 Required. The first text string.
-
Text2 Required. The second text string.
Example
Copy the example data in the following table, and paste it in cell A1 of a new Excel worksheet. For formulas to show results, select them, press F2, and then press Enter. If you need to, you can adjust the column widths to see all the data.
|
First string |
Second string |
|
|---|---|---|
|
word |
word |
|
|
Word |
word |
|
|
w ord |
word |
|
|
Formula |
Description |
Result |
|
=EXACT(A2,B2) |
Checks whether the strings in the first row match |
TRUE |
|
=EXACT(A3,B3) |
Checks whether the strings in the second row match ("W" is uppercase in A3) |
FALSE |
|
=EXACT(A4,B4) |
Checks whether the strings in the third row match (A4 contains a space between "w" and "ord) |
FALSE |
