NOT and XOR

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Chase every order that is neither Paid nor Cancelled. Those two are finished; everything else needs a reminder.

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status

Chase or OK

Type to enter a value or a formula starting with =. F2 edits, F4 adds $ to a reference.

Study notes

How NOT and XOR works

What does NOT do?

NOT flips a condition: TRUE becomes FALSE and FALSE becomes TRUE. On its own, NOT(B2="Paid") is the same as B2<>"Paid". It earns its place around a bigger question:
=NOT(OR(B2="Paid",B2="Cancelled"))
That reads "neither Paid nor Cancelled", which is easier to get right than flipping each part by hand.
What does XOR do?

XOR means "exclusive or": TRUE when exactly one of two conditions is TRUE, and FALSE when both or neither are.
=XOR(B2="Yes",C2="Yes")
How is it different from OR?

OR is TRUE when one or both are TRUE. Use XOR when "both" should not count: one weekend shift but not two, a phone number or an email but not both.
What about more than two conditions?

XOR is TRUE when an odd number of them are TRUE. That's rarely what people mean, so with three or more, count them instead: =COUNTIF(B2:D2,"Yes")=1.

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