Two almost exact lists: If the column at the right have a specific value, then copy it at the left (excel)

Question

I am working with excel.

I have almost two identical columns and I need some of the different results of the column at the right to be at the column at the left.

They look like this....

A      B
Yes    Yes
No     No
No     Maybe
Yes    Yes
Yes    Maybe
No     NA
Yes    Yes
No     Maybe
Yes    NA
No     No

I need new column A that contains the "Maybe" and maintain the values of the A when is NA in the B column... So it should look like this....

A      B        C
Yes    Yes      Yes
No     No       No
No     Maybe    Maybe
Yes    Yes      Yes
Yes    Maybe    Maybe
No     NA       No
Yes    Yes      Yes
No     Maybe    Maybe
Yes    NA       Yes
No     No       No

I have tried different things with IF formula, Match formula and Vlookup formula, but I have not reach a solution.

Answer 1

If your sample data covers all possible combinations of Yes, No, NA, & Maybe then you can recreate your output column using the below formula and filling down as necessary

=IF(B2="NA",A2,IF(B2="Maybe",B2,B2))

which can be simplified to

=IF(B1="NA",A1,B1)

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If you have not provided all combinations of values then this likely will not work and you will need to update your sample data. This solution assumes:

1. Column A can only contain Yes & No
2. Column B can only contain Yes & No & NA & Maybe
3. There is no instance where one column is Yes and the other is No