I am cataloging items in a spreadsheet using Google Sheets. Every item needs a unique ID, which is a sequential code formatted like ABxxxxxx, where AB000000 < ABxxxxxx < AB999999, starting from AB000001, AB000002, AB000003, etc., and counting up to AB999999.
Some items in my sheet already have unique IDs, but many do not. I am trying to find a formula that generates an ID, and checks if the ID is already in a specific column.
If the new ID is not already in the column, then that ID becomes the new, unique ID for the item; otherwise, if the ID is already in the column, generate a new sequential ID, and check again to see if that one is already in the column.
I believe that I can see if the ID is already in the column by using the '''IF''' and '''COUNTIF''' formulas, and I can check to see if a value is unique using the '''UNIQUE''' formula.
However, I cannot seem to find a formula that will generate a new, unique ID for every item in a column which doesn't already have an ID. Attached is a screenshot which hopefully can illustrate what I want my formula to do. Is this even possible in Sheets?
Thank you very much for your time in reading this. I searched through several pages of Google results, and could not find a formula like the one I need. Any help is much appreciated. Thank you.