Explanation
All the hard work is done by the COUNTIF function, which is configured to count the values in the named range “substrings” that appear the named range “rng” with like this:
COUNTIF(rng,"*"&substrings&"*"))
By wrapping substrings in the asterisks, Excel evaluates the formula like this:
=SUMPRODUCT(COUNTIF(rng,{"*dog*";"*green*";"*sun*";"*every*"}))>0
COUNTIF counts the values wherever they appear in the cell. Since we are giving COUNTIF multiple values to look for, we receive a count for each value in an array like this: {1;0;1;1} .
Finally, SUMPRODUCT returns the sum of all items in the array. Any result greater than zero returns TRUE.
Explanation
Each item in rng is compared to each item in values and the result is an array of TRUE or FALSE values.
The double negative will force the TRUE and FALSE values to 1 and 0 respectively. Since SUMPRODUCT receives just one array, it simply adds up the items in the array and returns the result.
Logically, any result greater than zero means that at least one value exists in the range. So, the final step is to evaluate the SUMPRODUCT result to see if its greater than zero. Any result greater than zero returns TRUE, and any result equal to zero returns FALSE.
With hard-coded values
You can also hard code the search values into the formula, using what is known as an " array constant “. For example, if you want to look for 3 values: red, cyan, and magenta inside the range H2:H8, you can use:
=SUMPRODUCT(--(H2:H8={"red","cyan","magenta"}))>0
In the above example {“red”,“cyan”,“magenta”} is the array constant, which is one way to supply multiple values in a single argument.
Partial matches or substrings
The formula above tests for equivalency only and will not find partial matches or substrings in the range. If you need to look for substrings, you can use this formula instead .
