The simple answer is that what you've input into S11, for example, doesn't match any of the entries in A2-A7. In S11, you have 'End of Life span', but that string doesn't exist in A2-A7.

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Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Thanks again
I thought as much, then the search function is a better option? Which brings me back to my original problem, depending on how the list is sorted the function returns "end of life" or "life" with the preferred option being "end of life".

thanks
I will have to muddle through this...