Say you have three columns that you want to find if a value exists in, then count the columns that contain that string.

In my list, I created three columns.

cOne, cTwo, cThree

All have a field type of single line of text.

Then I created a calculated column named cCalc.

The formula for cCalc is:

=COUNT(FIND(“Taco”,cOne),FIND(“Taco”,cTwo),FIND(“Taco”,cThree))

In my formula, I’m searching each field for the word Taco.  Keep an eye on your case usage.  Taco is not the same as taco.

Find function:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/find-function-HA001160996.aspx

Count function:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-sharepoint-services-help/count-function-HA001160977.aspx