Skip to content
Free Excel Tutorials
  • Home
  • Excel For Beginners
  • Excel Intermediate
  • Advanced Excel For Experts

Data Analysis

  • Conditional Formatting Color Scales Examples in Excel
  • Excel Frequency Function Example
  • Understanding Anova in Excel
  • Calculate Conditional Percentile ‘IF’ in table in Excel
  • Subtotal function in Excel

References

  • Count rows with at least n matching values
  • How to use Excel TRANSPOSE Function
  • How to get last column number in range in Excel
  • How to retrieve first match between two ranges in Excel
  • Count rows that contain specific values in Excel

Data Validations

  • Excel Data validation exists in list
  • Excel Data validation date in next 30 days
  • Data validation must not exist in list
  • Excel Data validation specific characters only
  • Excel Data validation whole percentage only

Excel Data validation require unique number

by

Set criteria to accept only unique number, ie no duplicate.

To allow only unique numbers in a given range, you can use data validation with a custom formula based on the AND, ISNUMBER, and COUNTIF functions.

Formula

=AND(ISNUMBER(A1),COUNTIF(range,A1)<2)

Cell references in data validation formulas are relative to the upper left cell in the range selected when the validation rule is defined, in this case B5.

Explanation

In the example shown, the data validation applied to B5:B9 is:

=AND(ISNUMBER(B5),COUNTIF(ids,B5)<2)

where ids is the named range B5:B9.

How this formula works

Data validation rules are triggered when a user adds or changes a cell value.

The AND function takes multiple arguments (logical expressions) and returns TRUE only when all arguments return TRUE. In this case, we need two conditions:

Logical 1 tests if the input is a number using the ISNUMBER function:

ISNUMBER(B5)

The ISNUMBER function returns TRUE when a value is numeric and FALSE if not.

Logical 2 tests checks that the input doesn’t already exist in the named range “ids”:

COUNTIF(ids,B5)<2

COUNTIF returns a count of the value in B5 inside the named range ids (B5:B9). If the count is less than 2, the logical expression returns TRUE.

If both logical expressions return TRUE, the AND function returns TRUE and validation succeeds:

=AND(TRUE,TRUE) // validation successful

If either logical returns FALSE, data validation fails.

Note: Be aware that numeric input includes dates and times, whole numbers, and decimal values.

Post navigation

Previous Post:

DECIMAL function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation

Next Post:

AVERAGE function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Learn Basic Excel

Ribbon
Workbook
Worksheets
Format Cells
Find & Select
Sort & Filter
Templates
Print
Share
Protect
Keyboard Shortcuts

Categories

  • Charts
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Validation
  • Excel Functions
    • Cube Functions
    • Database Functions
    • Date and Time Functions
    • Engineering Functions
    • Financial Functions
    • Information Functions
    • Logical Functions
    • Lookup and Reference Functions
    • Math and Trig Functions
    • Statistical Functions
    • Text Functions
    • Web Functions
  • Excel VBA
  • Excel Video Tutorials
  • Formatting
  • Grouping
  • Others

Logical Functions

  • Check multiple cells are equal in Excel
  • IFNA function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation
  • How to use IFS function in Excel
  • How to use Excel FALSE Function
  • AND function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation

Date Time

  • YEARFRAC function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation
  • ISOWEEKNUM function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation
  • YEAR function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation
  • How to get Holiday Date from Year in Excel
  • How to get year from date in Excel

Grouping

  • Group numbers at uneven intervals in Excel
  • If cell contains one of many things in Excel
  • Group numbers with VLOOKUP in Excel
  • How to randomly assign people to groups in Excel
  • Group times into unequal buckets in Excel

General

  • How to generate random date between two dates in Excel
  • Excel Autofill Cell Ranges, Copy, Paste
  • How to create dynamic named range with INDEX in Excel
  • Print Excel Sheet In Landscape Or Portrait
  • Subtotal invoices by age in Excel
© 2025 xlsoffice . All Right Reserved. | Teal Smiles | Abbreviations And Their Meaning