having excel create a new column in a highest to lowest format

[surfishingfool]

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) sorry it sounds confusing but im not sure if it really is.

have a list of names in one column and then a list of numbers next to it, associated to each name. i would like to create a new column where excel automatically takes the highest 7 numbers and puts the names associated to those numbers in rank from highest to lowest. Is this possible? Is there a formula that can do this? Thanks

 

[Bob Greenblatt]

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) sorry it sounds
confusing but im not sure if it really is.

/have a list of names in one column and then a list of numbers next to
it, associated to each name. i would like to create a new column where
excel automatically takes the highest 7 numbers and puts the names
associated to those numbers in rank from highest to lowest. Is this
possible? Is there a formula that can do this? Thanks/

Yes it is possible. But have you looked at data filter to filter you
list? This may be easier and better for your needs.

 

[surfishingfool]

thanks for the quick response. Im not really sure if the filter is the best option for me. How else can I go about it? Thank you

 

[Bob Greenblatt]

Yes it is possible. But have you looked at data filter to filter you
list? This may be easier and better for your needs.

Why don't you just sort the list in descending order?

 

[CyberTaz]

I believe one of the points that Bob G is making is that in most situations
it is undesirable to have the same data stored in more than one place. It
makes your life a lot more difficult than it needs to be. If the one list of
data can be used for multiple purposes you can be more consistent as well as
more accurate in most respects.

If you just click in the column containing the number then click the [Z-A]
button to sort the list in descending order you can just count down the list
- the 7 highest numbers & the names on the their same rows will be at the
top of the list.

You can also use the AutoFilter feature to simply filter for the Top (n)
records based on either column. The feature is in Data> Filter, see more
information on it in Excel Help.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac