countif criteria

[Guest]

my current formula is:
=COUNTIF(OFFSET('Daily MP'!$A:$A,0,MATCH(F$3,'Daily
MP'!$5:$5,0)-1),"*04ac08*")
what I want to do for my criteria, instead of using "*04ac08*", is refer to
the location of the of text I want to look up. 04ac08 in in box B4, but when
I replace "*04ac08*" with B4 it doesn't search within a text, it is looking
for an exact match. What symbol do I need to use with the B4 to make it
search within a text?

 

[Frank Kabel]

Hi
use:
=COUNTIF(OFFSET('Daily MP'!$A:$A,0,MATCH(F$3,'Daily
MP'!$5:$5,0)-1),"*" & B4 & "*")