How to compare names in MS Excel 2010 with filenames? - function

Question

My goal: to compare the filenames in a directory with the names in a spreadsheet. If there is a match, then I wish to append the corresponding account number of that name to the filename.
I have used the dir command to retrieve all of the filenames in a directory, then pasted the list into a column in the Excel spreadsheet.
I now have 4 columns: Account number, LastName, FirstName, and filename. The main problem here is that the filenames are inconsistent. They're in the form of "lastname, firstname date", but they vary in the forms of "Smith, John 010112", "Smith, J. 010112", "Smith J 010112". This means that when it comes to the first name, I'll only be comparing the first letter of the string.
So essentially, for each filename I need to check the lastname against the lastname column. If a match is found, then I need to check the first letter of the filename's firstname against the first letter of the firstname in the same row as the matching lastname. If this is also a match, then I need to grab the account number in that row and append it to the filename.
How could I do this? I'm pretty new to Excel functions, but I do have a little experience with coding in Java and C from some college classes.

Answer 1

Since you already have the filenames in a column, you can solve the rest using an Excel Formula
=IF(SEARCH(B2&", "&LEFT(C2,1),D2,1)>0,A2&"-"&D2,IF(SEARCH(B2&" "&LEFT(C2,1),D2,1)>0,A2&"-"&D2,""))
This formula will hold true for both Jake Smith and John Smith.
Snapshot
Note:
A2&"-"&D2 part in the formula adds the Ac. No to the Old Filename. If you want Ac. No to be added in the end then change the above to D2&"-"&A2

Answer 2

Well dealling with inconsistent strings can be tricky. Here's a function that can determine the matching last name, and intial of the first name, provided the string pattern doesn't vary outside of your example. Add it to a module, then you can access it by typing in the formula =AppendFileName into a cell.
Public Function AppendFileName(ByVal LName As String, ByVal FName As String, ByVal FileName As String, ByVal AccN As String) As String
If LName = Left(FileName, Len(LName)) Then
If Mid(FileName, Len(LName) + 1, 1) = "," Then 'Check if the string contains a comma
If Mid(FileName, Len(LName) + 3, 1) = Left(FName, 1) Then
AppendFileName = FileName & " " & AccN
End If
Else 'If no comma then assume just one space
If Mid(FileName, Len(LName) + 2, 1) = Left(FName, 1) Then
AppendFileName = FileName & " " & AccN
End If
End If
End If
If AppendFileName = "" Then AppendFileName = False
End Function
You can create a loop around this code to go through all the files and names and automate with the dir function, eg.
Dim x as integer, DirFile as string
DirFile = Dir(Path)
Do While DirFile <> ""
x = x + 1 'To track how many files, and to assign variables as in below line of code
'Set each string variable like FName = Range("A1").offset(x,0).value
'Then assess the the names and file names with the If statements above
'Do something with appended FileName
DirFile = Dir
Loop
Hope this helps.