So who is up for a challenge? Can you use only formulas and extract dates buried inside text?
Your mission, if you choose to accept it,
- Download this file.
- In column C, write a formula such that you can extract the date in column B
- If you succeed, post your solution here as a comment.
- If you fail, drink some coffee, start afresh.

What are you waiting for? Start extracting!
Need some help?
If you want some clues, check out below links:
- Extract numbers from text using formulas
- Working with date & time in Excel – Basics
- Excel array formulas – examples & explanations
- More examples on date & time
Want more challenges? We got’em too
You better have access to lots of coffee or something strong, cause it going to get tough.
PS: If you feel like cheating, here is a solution.














One Response to “How to compare two Excel sheets using VLOOKUP? [FREE Template]”
Maybe I missed it, but this method doesn't include data from James that isn't contained in Sara's data.
I added a new sheet, and named the ranges for Sara and James.
Maybe something like:
B2: =SORT(UNIQUE(VSTACK(SaraCust, JamesCust)))
C2: =XLOOKUP(B2#,SaraCust,SaraPaid,"Missing")
D2: =XLOOKUP(B2#,JamesCust, JamesPaid,"Missing")
E2: =IF(ISERROR(C2#+D2#),"Missing",IF(C2#=D2#,"Yes","No"))
Then we can still do similar conditional formatting. But this will pull in data missing from Sara's sheet as well.