Excel - How to count number of rows in range (i.e. various columns) that contain certain string?

Question

I have a list A of strings and I want to see if and if yes in how many rows each string is represented in range B. My data looks something like this:

List A:

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Answer 1

In the following image

B is the name for the range A1:C4. In F1 (next to the first element in your list A), enter:

=SUM(IF(COUNTIF(OFFSET(B,ROW(B)-1,0,1),E1)>0,1,0)

(entered with Ctrl + Shift + Enter) and copy down.

It should be flexible enough to handle a B which grows to more rows and columns.