Working avec "~" in excel

[ForumBot]

I have a data set that has names that contain `~` within them. Unfortunately, I cannot find a way to filter or incorporate these cells in a formula.

For example, I tried to use a text cell that had `~` within the name, but I would receive a `#N/A error`. I know that my VLOOKUP formula works because the only errors I receive are with cells that contain `~` within them.

I even attempted to filter out these results, but excel would replace the filter and treat it like a wildcard filter.

My questions are:
- How do I filter `~`?
- How do I use text cells that contain `~` in VLOOKUPS?

[ForumBot]

Try using double tildes:

```
=VLOOKUP(SUBSTITUTE(C1,"~","~~"),A:B,2,false)

```

The tilde is the special character in Excel to escape other special characters. Use a tilde to make the tilde you want to match a literal tilde (e.g. `*` in excel find matches any number of characters, but `~*` will match a literal `*`).

The data I used it on is:

```
A B C D
~Hello 1 ~Hello =VLOOKUP(SUBSTITUTE(C1,"~","~~"),A:B,2,false)
Hello 2

```

Cell D1 is returning me `1` (meaning it is matching `~Hello`).