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AbigailJacob1981's avatar
AbigailJacob1981
Copper Contributor
Jan 17, 2025

HELP! Consolidating data in spreadsheet without data loss

I have a dataset that I'm trying to consolidate into unique records without losing any data.  Each observation has an SSID number, and there are duplicate entries in the SSID number column.  I don't want to de-dupe the records using Excel's de-duplicate, because there is information across multiple rows/columns that I would like to consolidate.

Here's an example (with fake IDs to preserve confidential information):

My duplicate ID is highlighted with conditional formatting.  I'd like one observation for student #1234, but that preserved both the grade in Column D, and the 'yes' in Column C that appears in the second row for student #1234.

 

Using Excel's native de-duplicate or consolidate data functions means I lose either the grade in column D or the yes in column C.

Any way to do this?

  • Harun24HR's avatar
    Harun24HR
    Bronze Contributor

    What would be your desired output? Can you attach a sample file.

    • AbigailJacob1981's avatar
      AbigailJacob1981
      Copper Contributor

      Sample output would look like this:

       

       

      It preserves the 'yes' in column D for student #1234, and also preserves the grade in column H for student #1234's original duplicate record.  

       

      The 'General or Topical Math' is a placeholder and could be removed and re-added later, but I'd like to keep the subject-specific math courses like AP calculus and Pre-Algebra in the sample file. 

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