Text Functions
Intermediate

TRIM before you compare

Two cells that look identical, and a comparison that says they are not.

Task:

You are reconciling the bank's payee names against your supplier list. Several look the same but fail to match because of stray spaces. In C2:C6 return TRUE when the two names match once spaces are tidied.

Interactive Spreadsheet

Read about TRIM

Hints

+5 XPno-hints bonus

Solve it on your own to keep the bonus. Each hint gets one step closer to the formula.

Variations of TRIM

0/3

The same formula in the other shapes it takes at work.

  1. TRIM Function

    Remove extra spaces from text using TRIM.

    Core
    Beginner
  2. TRIM before you compare

    Two cells that look identical, and a comparison that says they are not.

    Intermediate
  3. Measure what TRIM removes

    LEN before and after TRIM shows how dirty a column really is.

    Intermediate

The data in this exercise

This is the grid you start with. Cell references in the task — B6, C2 — point at the row numbers and column letters below.

6 rows × 3 columns5 cells you fill in
ABC
1Bank payeeSupplierMatch?
2Greenway Ltd Greenway Ltd
3 Hollis & CoHollis & Co
4Ivory PrintIvory Print
5Jasper FoodsJasper Food
6Keel MarineKeel Marine
What this exercise teachesMay contain the answer

Comparing the raw cells marks four of these five as different, and you would waste an afternoon looking for a difference you cannot see. TRIM both sides and only the genuine mismatch — Jasper Food without the s — remains.