Absolutely, the IF function in Excel can be used with text comparisons! It's a versatile tool for making decisions based on whether text matches certain criteria. Here's how:

Basic Text Comparison with IF

1. Syntax: The basic syntax for using IF with text comparisons is:

```excel
=IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false)
```

2. Logical Test: In this case, the logical test compares two text values using comparison operators like "=", ">", "<", "<>" (not equal), etc.

3. Example: Let's say in cell A1 you have the text "Apple" and in B1 you want to display "In Stock" if the text in A1 matches "Apple" and "Out of Stock" otherwise. You can use the following formula:

```excel
=IF(A1="Apple", "In Stock", "Out of Stock")
```

Case Sensitivity Matters

By default, Excel text comparisons are case-sensitive. So "Apple" wouldn't match "apple." To perform a case-insensitive comparison, you can use the EXACT function together with IF:

```excel
=IF(EXACT(A1, "APPLE"), "In Stock", "Out of Stock")
```

Advanced Text Comparisons with Wildcards

For more complex text matching, you can use wildcards like "*" (any number of characters) and "?" (a single character) within the text comparison:

```excel
=IF(A1="App*", "Matches App*", "Doesn't Match") - Matches any text starting with "App"
=IF(A1="Prod?ct", "Matches Product", "Doesn't Match") - Matches text "Product" or "Prodact"
```

Remember to enclose text in double quotes ("") when using it within the formula.

By combining the IF function with various text comparison techniques, you can create powerful logic for evaluating and responding to text data in your Excel spreadsheets.