# Excel Formula Help, Please?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-formula-help-please/553191
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 9, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-formula-help-please/553191 "2010-09-09T15:50:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-formula-help-please/553191/1 "2010-09-09T15:50:42Z")
I can’t figure out quite how to get Excel to do what I want. I am trying to create an IF function for the following situation. I have a cell, A1, with a value under 1. I would like another cell to display the following:
if A1 \<= .001, then B1 = \*\*\*
if .001 \< A1 \<= .01, then B1 = \*\*
if .01 \< A1 \< =.05, then B1 = \*
if .05 \< A1, then B1 = [blank]
What do I type in B1 to make it spit that out?
Thanks!
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### Author:  [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-formula-help-please/553191/2 "2010-09-09T15:58:24Z")
=if(A1\<=0.001,“_**",if(A1\<=0.01,"**",if(A1\<=0.05,"_”,"")))
I’m sure others will give similar answers simultaneously.
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### Author:  [@FasterThanMeerkats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FasterThanMeerkats)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-formula-help-please/553191/3 "2010-09-09T15:59:12Z")
Try ending with double quotes e.g = “”
Usually you put text in between the quote, like “OK”, but if you leave out text excel will return a blank. (I think formulas that check for blanks will not count it as a blank though)
Also, that’s a lot of nested IF statements. I pity anyone who has to double check your work.
Hope that helps.
(i.e. use the nested statement that **mcgato** posted)
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### Author:  [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-formula-help-please/553191/4 "2010-09-09T16:02:03Z")
Gah, you beat me to it, **mcgato**!
**BetsQ** , you have to use nested IF statements to do that in Excel.
IF(logical test, value if true, value if false).
So inside your first IF, include another IF statement as the ‘value is false’ portion.
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### Author:  [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-formula-help-please/553191/5 "2010-09-09T16:16:17Z")
Y’all rock. Thank you.
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### Author:  [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-formula-help-please/553191/6 "2010-09-09T16:17:49Z")
Indeed. It’s nested If functions. They’re sometimes easier to write from the inside-out than outside-in. Make it say “If A is this, display that, but if not, run the next If function.”