countif problem

[Guest]

i have employee names in column m2:m16.i am using the countif to count the
number of times an employee shows up in the list.for some strange reason
countif will not work with the name steve!! any suggestions?
thx wynb

 

[Ragdyer]

Because "steve" in your list and "steve" in your lookup cell or formula is
*not* the same.

Type the name in manually in both places, and you'll see what I mean.

There may be leading or trailing spaces or some other invisible characters
present in one or the other.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Hmmm...

=COUNTIF(M2:M16,"steve")

works for me. Check that there are no leading or trailing spaces.

 

[Guest]

i entered the name manually and it works.thank you. wynb

 

[RagDyeR]

Appreciate the feed-back.