i have a database of name addresses, phone numbers, etc, used to create mail
labels for a newsletter. i would like to randomly select a name each week
from this database to give away a prize. i would like to ensure there is no
duplication of names selected.

use this excel formula:
=INT(RAND()*<number of records in database)+1
it will return a random number between 1 and the number of records in the
database, use that number to select a row or record.

"ed wine" wrote:

i have a database of name addresses, phone numbers, etc, used to create mail
labels for a newsletter. i would like to randomly select a name each week
from this database to give away a prize. i would like to ensure there is no
duplication of names selected.

Excel does not use seeded random numbers, so, you can use the following formula

=int(rand()*100)+1

replace 100 with the number of rows in your list
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"ed wine" wrote:

i have a database of name addresses, phone numbers, etc, used to create mail
labels for a newsletter. i would like to randomly select a name each week
from this database to give away a prize. i would like to ensure there is no
duplication of names selected.