hi all! i have 2 spreadsheets, one of which has a colmn wit hall the serial #'s in need on the other spreadsheet, i ahve all bUT 2 of the serials #'s need. is there a fast and eas way to find the missing 2 serial # values? like can i use a search somehow to root out the 2 missing values? any info would be great! thx! cheers, nate

Well, if you want to go really basic, you could sort both columns next to each other and find the 2 spots where they don't line up. After the first missing S/N they'll be off by 1 row, after the 2nd they'll be off by 2. 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 9 8 9 3 & 8 are missing from the second list. If you want to be more elegant, use Conditional Formatting with VLOOKUP: Assuming your complete list starts in A1 and your partial list is in B1:B7, try this: Select all the cells with the complete list, and use this formula as your Conditional Formatting criteria: =IF(ISNA(VLOOKUP(A1,$B$1:$B$7,1,0)),TRUE,FALSE) Your 2 missing numbers will be highlighted by whatever format you chose. If you need the specific steps on how to do this, let us know.

fantasitc i will try this very clever thanks SO MUCH woot!

Hey Derby! Ok, I did exactly as you specified... In column A I have the complete list of serials. In column B, I have the list with the missing data. Now, forgive me for my ignorance but how do I "sort" them to show the blank spots? I see under "Data" a sort option but am not sure how to proceed. Do I highlight everything and use sort? Again, any and all help would be appreciated and I will give the Excel manual a read later today! 8^) Cheers, Nate