Try this little User Defined Function ( UDF )
Public Function FruitCounter(rIn As Range, s As String) As Long
Dim r As Range
Dim ary() As String
For Each r In rIn
ary = Split(Replace(r.Value, " ", ""), ",")
For i = LBound(ary) To UBound(ary)
If ary(i) = s Then
FruitCounter = FruitCounter + 1
GoTo ext1
End If
Next i
ext1:
Next r
End Function
User Defined Functions (UDFs) are very easy to install and use:
- ALT-F11 brings up the VBE window
- ALT-I ALT-M opens a fresh module
- paste the stuff in and close the VBE window
If you save the workbook, the UDF will be saved with it. If you are using a version of Excel later then 2003, you must save the file as .xlsm rather than .xlsx
To remove the UDF:
- bring up the VBE window as above
- clear the code out
- close the VBE window
To use the UDF from Excel:
=FruitCounter(A1:A10,"apple")
To learn more about macros in general, see:
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/getstarted.htm
and
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee814735(v=office.14).aspx
and
http://www.cpearson.com/excel/WritingFunctionsInVBA.aspx
for specifics on UDFs
Macros must be enabled for this to work!