- Excel Functions - Home
- Compatibility Functions
- Compatibility Functions
- BETADIST Function
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- EXPONDIST Function
- FDIST Function
- FINV Function
- FLOOR Function
- FTEST Function
- GAMMADIST Function
- GAMMAINV Function
- HYPGEOMDIST Function
- LOGINV Function
- LOGNORMDIST Function
- MODE Function
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- NORMDIST Function
- NORMINV Function
- NORMSDIST Function
- NORMSINV Function
- PERCENTILE Function
- PERCENTRANK Function
- POISSON Function
- QUARTILE Function
- RANK Function
- STDEV Function
- STDEVP Function
- TDIST Function
- TINV Function
- TTEST Function
- VAR Function
- VARP Function
- WEIBULL Function
- ZTEST Function
- Logical Functions
- Logical Functions
- AND Function
- FALSE Function
- IF Function
- IFERROR Function
- IFNA Function
- IFS Function
- NOT Function
- OR Function
- SWITCH Function
- TRUE Function
- XOR Function
- Text Functions
- Text Functions
- ARRAYTOTEXT Function
- BAHTTEXT Function
- CHAR Function
- CLEAN Function
- CODE Function
- CONCAT Function
- CONCATENATE Function
- DBCS Function
- DOLLAR Function
- Exact Function
- FIND Function
- FINDB Function
- FIXED Function
- LEFT Function
- LEFTB Function
- LEN Function
- LENB Function
- LOWER Function
- MID Function
- MIDB Function
- NUMBERVALUE Function
- PHONETIC Function
- PROPER Function
- REPLACE Function
- REPLACEB Function
- REPT Function
- RIGHT Function
- RIGHTB Function
- SEARCH Function
- SEARCHB Function
- SUBSTITUTE Function
- T Function
- TEXT Function
- TEXTAFTER Function
- TEXTBEFORE Function
- TEXTJOIN Function
- TEXTSPLIT Function
- TRIM Function
- UNICHAR Function
- UNICODE Function
- UPPER Function
- VALUE Function
- VALUETOTEXT Function
- Date & Time Functions
- Date & Time Functions
- DATE Function
- DATEDIF Function
- DATEVALUE Function
- DAY Function
- DAYS Function
- DAYS360 Function
- EDATE Function
- EOMONTH Function
- HOUR Function
- ISOWEEKNUM Function
- MINUTE Function
- MONTH Function
- NETWORKDAYS Function
- NETWORKDAYS.INTL Function
- NOW Function
- SECOND Function
- TIME Function
- TIMEVALUE Function
- TODAY Function
- WEEKDAY Function
- WEEKNUM Function
- WORKDAY Function
- WORKDAY.INTL Function
- YEAR Function
- YEARFRAC Function
- Cube Functions
- Cube Functions
- CUBEKPIMEMBER Function
- CUBEMEMBER Function
- CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY Function
- CUBERANKEDMEMBER Function
- CUBESET Function
- CUBESETCOUNT Function
- CUBEVALUE Function
- Math Functions
- Math Functions
- ABS Function
- AGGREGATE Function
- ARABIC Function
- BASE Function
- CEILING.MATH Function
- COMBIN Function
- COMBINA Function
- DECIMAL Function
- DEGREES Function
- EVEN Function
- EXP Function
- FACT Function
- FACTDOUBLE Function
- FLOOR.MATH Function
- GCD Function
- INT Function
- LCM Function
- LN Function
- LOG Function
- LOG10 Function
- MDETERM Function
- MINVERSE Function
- MMULT Function
- MOD Function
- MROUND Function
- MULTINOMIAL Function
- MUNIT Function
- ODD Function
- PI Function
- POWER Function
- PRODUCT Function
- QUOTIENT Function
- RADIANS Function
- RAND Function
- RANDBETWEEN Function
- ROMAN Function
- ROUND Function
- ROUNDDOWN Function
- ROUNDUP Function
- SERIESSUM Function
- SIGN Function
- SQRT Function
- SQRTPI Function
- SUBTOTAL Function
- SUM Function
- SUMIF Function
- SUMIFS Function
- SUMPRODUCT Function
- SUMSQ Function
- SUMX2MY2 Function
- SUMX2PY2 Function
- SUMXMY2 Function
- TRUNC Function
- Trigonometric Functions
- Trigonometric Functions
- ACOS
- ACOSH Function
- ACOT Function
- ACOTH Function
- ASIN Function
- ASINH Function
- ATAN Function
- ATAN2 Function
- ATANH Function
- COS Function
- COSH Function
- COT Function
- COTH Function
- CSC Function
- CSCH Function
- SEC Function
- SECH Function
- SIN Function
- SINH Function
- TAN Function
- TANH Function
- Database Functions
- Database Functions
- DAVERAGE
- DCOUNT
- DCOUNTA
- DGET
- DMAX
- DMIN
- DPRODUCT
- DSTDEV
- DSTDEVP
- DSUM
- DVAR
- DVARP
- Dynamic Array Functions
- Dynamic Array Functions
- FILTER Function
- RANDARRAY Function
- SEQUENCE Function
- SORT Function
- SORTBY Function
- UNIQUE Function
- XLOOKUP Function
- XMATCH Function
- Engineering Functions
- Engineering Functions
- BESSELI Function
- BESSELJ Function
- BESSELK Function
- BESSELY Function
- BIN2DEC Function
- BIN2HEX Function
- BIN2OCT Function
- BITAND Function
- BITLSHIFT Function
- BITOR Function
- BITRSHIFT Function
- BITXOR Function
- COMPLEX Function
- CONVERT Function
- DEC2BIN Function
- DEC2HEX Function
- DEC2OCT Function
- DELTA Function
- ERF Function
- ERF.PRECISE Function
- ERFC Function
- ERFC.PRECISE Function
- GESTEP Function
- HEX2BIN Function
- HEX2DEC Function
- HEX2OCT Function
- IMABS Function
- IMAGINARY Function
- IMARGUMENT Function
- IMCONJUGATE Function
- IMCOS Function
- IMCOSH Function
- IMCOT Function
- IMCSC Function
- IMCSCH Function
- IMDIV Function
- IMEXP Function
- IMLN Function
- IMLOG2 Function
- IMLOG10 Function
- IMPOWER Function
- IMPRODUCT Function
- IMREAL Function
- IMSEC Function
- IMSECH Function
- IMSIN Function
- IMSINH Function
- IMSQRT Function
- IMSUB Function
- IMSUM Function
- IMTAN Function
- OCT2BIN Function
- OCT2DEC Function
- OCT2HEX Function
- Financial Functions
- Financial Functions
- ACCRINT Function
- ACCRINTM Function
- AMORDEGRC Function
- AMORLINC Function
- COUPDAYBS Function
- COUPDAYS Function
- COUPDAYSNC Function
- COUPNCD Function
- COUPNUM Function
- COUPPCD Function
- CUMIPMT Function
- CUMPRINC Function
- DB Function
- DDB Function
- DISC Function
- DOLLARDE Function
- DOLLARFR Function
- DURATION Function
- EFFECT Function
- FV Function
- FVSCHEDULE Function
- INTRATE Function
- IPMT Function
- IRR Function
- ISPMT Function
- MDURATION Function
- MIRR Function
- NOMINAL Function
- NPER Function
- NPV Function
- ODDFPRICE Function
- ODDFYIELD Function
- ODDLPRICE Function
- ODDLYIELD Function
- PDURATION Function
- PMT Function
- PPMT Function
- PRICE Function
- PRICEDISC Function
- PRICEMAT Function
- PV Function
- RATE Function
- RECEIVED Function
- RRI Function
- SLN Function
- SYD Function
- TBILLEQ Function
- TBILLPRICE Function
- TBILLYIELD Function
- VDB Function
- XIRR Function
- XNPV Function
- YIELD Function
- YIELDDISC Function
- YIELDMAT Function
- Information Functions
- Information Functions
- CELL Function
- ERROR.TYPE Function
- INFO Function
- ISBLANK Function
- ISERR Function
- ISERROR Function
- ISEVEN Function
- ISFORMULA Function
- ISLOGICAL Function
- ISNA Function
- ISNONTEXT Function
- ISNUMBER Function
- ISODD Function
- ISREF Function
- ISTEXT Function
- N Function
- NA Function
- SHEET Function
- SHEETS Function
- TYPE Function
- Lookup & Reference Functions
- Lookup & Reference Functions
- ADDRESS Function
- AREAS Function
- CHOOSE Function
- COLUMN Function
- COLUMNS Function
- FORMULATEXT Function
- GETPIVOTDATA Function
- HLOOKUP Function
- HYPERLINK Function
- INDEX Function
- INDIRECT Function
- LOOKUP Function
- MATCH Function
- OFFSET Function
- ROW Function
- ROWS Function
- RTD Function
- TRANSPOSE Function
- VLOOKUP Function
- Statistical Functions
- Statistical Functions
- AVEDEV Function
- AVERAGE Function
- AVERAGEA Function
- AVERAGEIF Function
- AVERAGEIFS Function
- BETA.DIST Function
- BETA.INV Function
- BINOM.DIST Function
- BINOM.DIST.RANGE Function
- BINOM.INV Function
- CHISQ.DIST Function
- CHISQ.DIST.RT Function
- CHISQ.INV Function
- CHISQ.INV.RT Function
- CHISQ.TEST Function
- CONFIDENCE.NORM Function
- CONFIDENCE.T Function
- CORREL Function
- COUNT Function
- COUNTA Function
- COUNTBLANK Function
- COUNTIF Function
- COUNTIFS Function
- COVARIANCE.P Function
- COVARIANCE.S Function
- DEVSQ Function
- EXPON.DIST Function
- F.DIST Function
- F.DIST.RT Function
- F.INV Function
- F.INV.RT Function
- F.TEST Function
- FISHER Function
- FISHERINV Function
- FORECAST Function
- FORECAST.ETS Function
- FORECAST.ETS.CONFINT Function
- FORECAST.ETS.SEASONALITY Function
- FORECAST.ETS.STAT Function
- FORECAST.LINEAR Function
- FREQUENCY Function
- GAMMA Function
- GAMMA.DIST Function
- GAMMA.INV Function
- GAMMALN Function
- GAMMALN.PRECISE Function
- GAUSS Function
- GEOMEAN
- GROWTH
- HARMEAN
- HYPGEOM.DIST
- INTERCEPT Function
- KURT Function
- LARGE Function
- LINEST Function
- LOGEST Function
- LOGNORM.DIST Function
- LOGNORM.INV Function
- MAX Function
- MAXA Function
- MAXIFS Function
- MEDIAN Function
- MIN Function
- MINA Function
- MINIFS Function
- MODE.MULT Function
- MODE.SNGL Function
- NEGBINOM.DIST Function
- NORM.DIST Function
- NORM.INV Function
- NORM.S.DIST Function
- NORM.S.INV Function
- PEARSON Function
- PERCENTILE.EXC
- PERCENTILE.INC
- PERCENTRANK.EXC
- PERCENTRANK.INC
- PERMUT
- PERMUTATIONA
- PHI
- POISSON.DIST
- PROB
- QUARTILE.EXC
- QUARTILE.INC
- RANK.AVG
- RANK.EQ
- RSQ
- SKEW
- SKEW.P
- SLOPE
- SMALL
- STANDARDIZE
- STDEV.P
- STDEV.S
- STDEVA
- STDEVPA
- STEYX
- T.DIST
- T.DIST.2T
- T.DIST.RT
- T.INV
- T.INV.2T
- T.TEST
- TREND
- TRIMMEAN Function
- VAR.P Function
- VAR.S Function
- VARA Function
- VARPA Function
- WEIBULL.DIST Function
- Z.TEST Function
- Web Functions
- Web Functions
- ENCODEURL Function
- FILTERXML Function
- WEBSERVICE Function
Excel - COLUMN Function
COLUMN Function
The Excel COLUMN function retrieves the first column number of the supplied cell reference. If no reference is specified, the Column Function returns the current Column number where the function is defined. It is a part of the LOOKUP & Reference function. For instance, the expression =COLUMN(F5) retrieves the number 6 as the F column is the 6 column in the Excel worksheet. You can utilize this function to generate the multiplication table of the integers, assigning unique IDs to the different customers, and so on.
Compatibility
This advanced Excel function is compatible with the following versions of MS Excel −
- Excel for Microsoft 365
- Excel for Microsoft 365 for Mac
- Excel for the web
- Excel 2024
- Excel 2024 for Mac
- Excel 2021
- Excel 2021 for Mac
- Excel 2019
- Excel 2016
- Excel 2013
- Excel 2010
- Excel 2007
Syntax
The syntax of the COLUMN function is as follows −
=COLUMN([reference])
Arguments
You can use the following arguments with the COLUMN function −
| Argument | Description | Required/ Optional |
|---|---|---|
| Reference |
It specifies a cell reference or range of cells to fetch the first column number. If no reference is specified, then the Column Function fetches the current Column number where this function appears. |
Optional |
Points of Remember
- The #SPILL! error occurred if the data already exists in the range of cells while evaluating the COLUMN function as a horizontal array formula.
- To populate the column number in an array, select the targeted cell range and press the "Ctrl+ Enter" to get the resulting array.
- If the cell range is specified in the Reference argument, and if the COLUMN function has not been selected as a horizontal array formula, the COLUMN function will retrieve the first column number.
- You cannot specify the multiple individual cell references in the COLUMN function.
Examples of COLUMN Function
Practice the following examples to learn the use of the COLUMN function in Excel.
Example 1: How to use the COLUMN Function in Excel?
In this example, we will apply the COLUMN function in the cell range from B2 to B4 to obtain the single-column number.
Solution
Step 1 − First, select the cell =COLUMN(E8) in the B2 cell and hit the Enter tab.
Therefore, the COLUMN function retrieves the result 5 as E is the fifth column.
Step 2 − After that, move to the next cell and enter the formula =COLUMN() in the B3 cell.
After that, press the Enter tab to get the column number where this active formula is employed.
Step 3 − Furthermore, double-click on the B4 cell and write the formula =@COLUMN(A2:D9). Here, the @ symbol eliminate the behavior of the array and only the single column number of the first cell reference in the supplied range is specified.
After that, press the Enter tab to obtain the result.
Example 2: How to get the Maximum Values After Multiplying Two Arrays?
We will use the INDEX and COLUMN functions, the multiply operator to multiply two arrays, and the MAX function as an outer function to extract the maximum value.
Solution
Place the cursor on the D6 cell and write the formula =MAX(INDEX((B1:B8=4)*(COLUMN(A1:C8)), , )).
Explanation
- The COLUMN(A1:C8) returns the column numbers of cell range A1 to C8.
- The condition (B1:B8=4) is verified. If the condition is correct, the TRUE value is retrieved. Otherwise, the FALSE value is retrieved.
- Multiply operator * multiply these two arrays.
- The expression INDEX((B1:B8=4)*(COLUMN(A1:C8)),,) generates the array after the multiplication of the two arrays.
- The MAX function retrieves the maximum value from the array.
Download Practice Sheet
You can download and use the sample data sheet to practice the COLUMN function.
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