EXACT Function (LibreOffice Calc)
The EXACT function compares two text strings and returns TRUE if they are exactly the same, including case. It is used for strict text validation, data cleaning, and case-sensitive comparisons.
Compatibility
â–ľ| Excel | âś” |
| Gnumeric | âś” |
| Google_sheets | âś” |
| Libreoffice | âś” |
| Numbers | âś” |
| Onlyoffice | âś” |
| Openoffice | âś” |
| Wps | âś” |
| Zoho | âś” |
What the EXACT Function Does â–ľ
- Compares two text strings
- Returns TRUE if they match exactly
- Returns FALSE if they differ in any way
- Case‑sensitive
- Useful for data validation, cleaning, and strict matching
Syntax â–ľ
EXACT(text1; text2)
Arguments
-
text1:
First text string. -
text2:
Second text string.
Basic Examples â–ľ
Case‑sensitive comparison
=EXACT("Nick"; "Nick")
→ TRUE
=EXACT("Nick"; "nick")
→ FALSE
Compare cell values
=EXACT(A1; B1)
Compare numbers as text
=EXACT("123"; "123")
→ TRUE
=EXACT("123"; "0123")
→ FALSE
Advanced Examples â–ľ
Validate user input
=IF(EXACT(A1; "YES"); "Confirmed"; "Invalid")
Detect trailing spaces
=EXACT(A1; TRIM(A1))
→ FALSE if extra spaces exist
Case‑sensitive password or code check
=EXACT(A1; B1)
Use EXACT in array validation
=SUMPRODUCT(EXACT(A1:A10; "OK"))
Compare normalized text
=EXACT(LOWER(A1); LOWER(B1))
Detect invisible characters
=EXACT(A1; CLEAN(A1))
Edge Cases and Behavior Details â–ľ
EXACT returns TRUE or FALSE
Behavior details
- Case‑sensitive
- Treats numbers as text if quoted
- Empty strings compare normally
- Whitespace differences matter
- EXACT(“A”; “A “) → FALSE
Invalid input → coerced to text
No error unless references are invalid.
Common Errors and Fixes â–ľ
Unexpected FALSE
Cause:
- Case mismatch
- Trailing spaces
- Hidden characters
- Different encodings
Fix:
- Use TRIM(), CLEAN(), LOWER(), UPPER()
Comparing numbers vs text
Cause:
- EXACT(“5”; 5) → FALSE
Fix:
- Convert both to text or both to numbers
Best Practices â–ľ
- Use EXACT for strict text validation
- Use LOWER/UPPER when case‑insensitive comparison is desired
- Clean data before comparison (TRIM, CLEAN)
- Use EXACT in data‑cleaning pipelines to detect anomalies
- Document comparison rules in models
EXACT is your precision tool for text comparison — perfect for validation, cleaning, and any workflow where “almost equal” isn’t good enough.
Related Patterns and Alternatives â–ľ
- =A1=B1 — case‑insensitive comparison
- FIND — case‑sensitive substring search
- SEARCH — case‑insensitive substring search
- TRIM / CLEAN — text normalization
- LOWER / UPPER — case normalization
By mastering EXACT, you can build robust, reliable text‑validation and data‑cleaning workflows in LibreOffice Calc.