LEFT not working in a COUNTIF formula

[TonyD1016]

I have a column of data on a table that consists of 3-digit numbers.

I need to strip the third digit and count the unique instances of the remaining two digit numbers in the column.

So on another sheet in A1 I have the following:

=(LEFT(range,2)

And that spills an array of the results I need to count.
Then B and C I put the following:

=UNIQUE(A1#)
=COUNTIF(A1#,UNIQUE(A1#))

Which returns exactly the totals I need.

So I return to my first sheet and put in:

=UNIQUE(LEFT(range,2))

It works fine, but when I go to the adjacent column and try to type the following:

=COUNTIF((LEFT(range,2),UNIQUE(LEFT(range,2)))

...I get the Excel stop warning of "There's a problem with this formula."

What gives?

 

[Fluff]

As the values are text it is looking for anything that starts with (for instance) 08

 

[TonyD1016]

As the values are text it is looking for anything that starts with (for instance) 08

Oh! I need to start using wildcards more often.

Thank you! Great stuff

 

[Fluff]

Glad we could help & thanks for the feedback.