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Message: [QUOTE="tomm tomm, post: 3273217"] Hi, I wish to find only the number of permutations of the following example. There are 4 employees who are able to perform different tasks. If they are working one task, they cannot work on another. Task#1 Task#2 Task#3 ****** Alice Alice Betty Betty Betty Carol Carol ****** Denise ****** ****** Eg: Alice can only perform Task#2 or Task#3 Eg; Betty can perform either Task#1 or Task#2 or Task#3 Eg: Carol can perform Task#1 or Task#2 Eg: Denise can only perform Task#1 There are 7 combinations of tasks that can be achieved. Betty Carol Alice Carol Alice Betty Carol Betty Alice Denise Alice Betty Denise Betty Alice Denise Carol Alice Denise Carol Betty All I need to know is the solution "7". I do not need to know the different combinations. I wish to perform this calculation on an EXCEL spreadsheet without using macros and VBA. On another board, I was kindly given the formula (B+C+D)*(A+B+C)*(A+B) This gives me a solution of sorts but I cannot seem to sort the wheat from the charf. Once I can find a solution, I wish to expand it to a larger set of tasks and people. I have spent ages on this and are really looking for help. Regards Submitted via EggHeadCafe - Software Developer Portal of Choice Note to Active Forum Posters [URL]http://www.eggheadcafe.com/tutorials/aspnet/bffd1eb4-da2f-426f-a6ba-4d5da9453164/note-to-active-forum-post.aspx[/URL] [/QUOTE]