COL A        COLB       COLC
34           78         78
57           23         57
67           60         67

I want COL C to show the higher number of COLA or COLB.
Thanks

Hi bremar:

Thanks for the question.

Here's how you do it, step by step:

1. Create a new spreadsheet.

2. Put the titles "ColA", "ColB", and ColC in Row 1 in the first three
columns (A, B).

     A       B      C
1  ColA    ColB   ColC 
 
2. Put the ColA and ColB numbers above in Rows 2 through 4 in the
first two columns (A, B).

     A       B      C
1  ColA    ColB   ColC 
2    34      78
3    57      23
4    67      60

3. Click in the cell to the right of the 78 (that is, in cell C2).

4. In the formula bar above (where it says "fx"), type in the formula
exactly as below:

=MAX(A2,B2)

This formula returns the maximum value of the two cells to the left.

You'll now have:

     A       B      C
1  ColA    ColB   ColC 
2    34      78     78
3    57      23
4    67      60

5. Click in the cell C2. Grab the small square in the bottom right
corner of the cell and drag it down to take in cells C3 and C4. This
will copy the same formula in those cells, but relative to their cells
to the left.

You should now have:

     A       B      C
1  ColA    ColB   ColC 
2    34      78     78
3    57      23     57
4    67      60     67

Hope this helps! Let me know if you need clarification. 

Search Strategy: None - previous knowledge

websearcher

---

Request for Answer Clarification by bremar-ga on 10 Feb 2006 07:01 PST

Thanks websearcher-ga!
Unfortunately the (-ve) did not copy properly.

COL A        COLB       COLC
34           -78         -78
57           23         57
-67           60         -67

I want COL C to show the greater number (Regardless of -ve or +ve)of COLA or COLB.
Apologise for the typo.
Tried the formula you sent through, but it only shows the higher
number not GREATER number
Thanks

---

Clarification of Answer by websearcher-ga on 10 Feb 2006 07:34 PST

Hi bremar:

Sorry for the confusion. Fortunately, the solution is a simple one. 

Just follow the same steps as above, but change the formula from 

=MAX(A2,B2)

to 

=MAX(ABS(A2),ABS(B2))

That will take the absolute values of the numbers first and then find
the larger one.

If you are modifying an existing spreadsheet, you'll need to make sure
you grab and drag the new formula down column 3, as before.

Hope this helps. 

websearcher

Very helpful!