Remove lesser of values in one column where duplicates exist in another

[SeanMcBride]

Here's the scenario:

Column A	Column B	Column C	Column D
14	195	Skeleton
14	195	Skeleton
17	32787	Costume	Fales
17	5695	Costume	True
17	698974	Costume	False
23	30073	Witch	False
23	2757	Witch	True
23	999999	Witch	False

<tbody>
</tbody>

In a worksheet with over 10,000 lines, I'm trying to create a formula or macro to select the higher value in column B where duplicates exist in Column A. For example, Column A has three duplicates of 17. I would want the formula to denote which value of those duplicates n Column B is the lesser of all the duplicates by some indicator. In other words, if duplicates in Column A exist, select the lesser corresponding value of that series in Column B. Help!

 

[NiMip]

Howdy! Could you elaborate on what you want with the result? Do you want the formula to be filled across the entire data range, and where there are duplicates in A, the result of the formula is the minimum corresponding value in B for all duplicates?

You've also said

I'm trying to create a formula or macro to select the higher value in column B where duplicates exist in Column A.

Is this a typo?

 

[SeanMcBride]

Yes, that's a typo. I would want the formula to select the lesser value of the duplicates. And yes, the formula could be copied down the whole data range. I could then sort the data and where the lesser value is indicated, sort, and easily have all lesser values.

 

[NiMip]

Assuming you have column headings, try in cell E2
=MIN(IF(A:A=A2,B:B))

And press CONTROL+SHIFT+ENTER, as it's an array formula. Then fill down the data set. That should give you the minimum of all B values with the corresponding A value. This will create duplicates, which might be a pain for your sorting... is that a problem?

 

[NiMip]

Just preempting your response haha... I've modified the formula so that it'll only show the result the first time. This means when you sort by the lesser values you will get a shortlist without duplicates, assuming that's what you'd like! Again, make sure to press CONTROL+SHIFT+ENTER

=IF(ROW()=MATCH(MIN(IF(A:A=A2,B:B)),IF(A:A=A2,B:B),0),B2,"")

EDIT: Fixed formula to make sure it only returned minimums for the duplicates in column A