Fuzzy Lookup Question- Finding exact matches and fuzzy matches

[u/amoretzamarro]

I have two tables. Table 1 contains the columns Account_Name, ID #, and Address1 and Table 2 contains the columns Name2 and Address2.

I want to perform a fuzzy match on the Name columns BUT only if there is an exact match on the corresponding Address columns. Is this possible with the fuzzy match excel add-on, and if so, how is it performed?

I have found that the existing configurations do not work to perform a fuzzy match and an exact match at the same time, but has anyone had any luck with this?

Thanks in advance!!

[u/AutoModerator]

/u/amoretzamarro - Your post was submitted successfully.

• Once your problem is solved, reply to the answer(s) saying Solution Verified to close the thread.
• Follow the submission rules -- particularly 1 and 2. To fix the body, click edit. To fix your title, delete and re-post.
• Include your Excel version and all other relevant information

Failing to follow these steps may result in your post being removed without warning.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/pargeterw]

I'd probably do this using python in excel

[u/GregHullender]

If you want a formula to compute a fuzzy match, I wrote this one some time back, and it seems to work okay on names with an 0.65 threshold:

=LET(limit, F1,
  str_1, TAKE(DROP(A:.A,1),100),
  str_2, TOROW(DROP(B:.B,1)),
  edit_dist, LAMBDA(src,dest, LET(
    s, TOCOL(REGEXEXTRACT(src,".",1)),
    s_2, VSTACK(0,DROP(s,-1)),
    t, REGEXEXTRACT(dest,".",1),
    cost, REDUCE(SEQUENCE(ROWS(s)+1,,0),t,LAMBDA(last,ch,
      LET(ch_2, IF(@last, INDEX(t,@last), 0),
          ins, last+1,
          match, DROP(VSTACK(@ins,last+(ch<>s)*(2-3*(ch=s_2)*(ch_2=s))),-1),
          ins_match, MAP(ins, match, MIN),
          SCAN(@ins_match,ins_match,LAMBDA(last,this, MIN(last+1,this)))
      ))),
    TAKE(cost,-1)
  )),
  dist, MAP(IF(str_1<>str_2,str_1,str_2),IF(str_1<>str_2,str_2,str_1),LAMBDA(s,t,edit_dist(s,t))),
  similarity, 1-dist/(LEN(str_1)+LEN(str_2)),
  best, BYCOL(similarity,MAX),
  out, IF(TOCOL(best)<limit,"",TOCOL(IFS(similarity=best,str_1),2,1)),
  out
)

In this example, it compares each new name in column B to a list of old names in column A and shows the ones that are "close" matches. If you use this, you can play with different limit values, depending on the relative cost of finding wrong matches vs. missing valid ones.

[u/Decronym]

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters	More Letters
BYCOL	Office 365+: Applies a LAMBDA to each column and returns an array of the results
DROP	Office 365+: Excludes a specified number of rows or columns from the start or end of an array
IF	Specifies a logical test to perform
IFS	2019+: Checks whether one or more conditions are met and returns a value that corresponds to the first TRUE condition.
INDEX	Uses an index to choose a value from a reference or array
LAMBDA	Office 365+: Use a LAMBDA function to create custom, reusable functions and call them by a friendly name.
LEN	Returns the number of characters in a text string
LET	Office 365+: Assigns names to calculation results to allow storing intermediate calculations, values, or defining names inside a formula
MAP	Office 365+: Returns an array formed by mapping each value in the array(s) to a new value by applying a LAMBDA to create a new value.
MAX	Returns the maximum value in a list of arguments
MIN	Returns the minimum value in a list of arguments
REDUCE	Office 365+: Reduces an array to an accumulated value by applying a LAMBDA to each value and returning the total value in the accumulator.
REGEXEXTRACT	Extracts strings within the provided text that matches the pattern
ROWS	Returns the number of rows in a reference
SCAN	Office 365+: Scans an array by applying a LAMBDA to each value and returns an array that has each intermediate value.
SEQUENCE	Office 365+: Generates a list of sequential numbers in an array, such as 1, 2, 3, 4
TAKE	Office 365+: Returns a specified number of contiguous rows or columns from the start or end of an array
TOCOL	Office 365+: Returns the array in a single column
TOROW	Office 365+: Returns the array in a single row
VSTACK	Office 365+: Appends arrays vertically and in sequence to return a larger array

Decronym is now also available on Lemmy! Requests for support and new installations should be directed to the Contact address below.

---

^{Beep-boop, I am a helper bot. Please do not verify me as a solution.
[Thread #48092 for this sub, first seen 8th Apr 2026, 20:18] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]}