- Excel Functions - Home
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- SWITCH Function
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- CHAR Function
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- DOLLAR Function
- Exact Function
- FIND Function
- FINDB Function
- FIXED Function
- LEFT Function
- LEFTB Function
- LEN Function
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- 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
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- DATEVALUE Function
- DAY Function
- DAYS Function
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- 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
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- CUBEKPIMEMBER Function
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- CUBESET Function
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- Math Functions
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- CEILING.MATH Function
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- MMULT Function
- MOD Function
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- RADIANS Function
- RAND Function
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- DAVERAGE
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- Dynamic Array Functions
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- COMPLEX Function
- CONVERT Function
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- OCT2DEC Function
- OCT2HEX Function
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- Financial Functions
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- AMORLINC Function
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- 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
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- FVSCHEDULE Function
- INTRATE Function
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- 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
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- TBILLPRICE Function
- TBILLYIELD Function
- VDB Function
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- XNPV Function
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- YIELDMAT Function
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- CELL Function
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- ISBLANK Function
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- ISTEXT Function
- N Function
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- 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 - COLUMNS Function
COLUMNS Function
The Excel COLUMNS function retrievers the single numeric value representing the total column number. It counts the number of Columns in an array or reference. It is a part of the LOOKUP and REFERENCE function in Microsoft Excel. The COLUMNS function is contrary to the ROWS function. It is a versatile yet powerful function that resolves many case scenarios, such as calculating the sales production of every region worldwide quarterly and being a finance analyst evaluating mutual funds' Compound Annual Growth Rate over 10 years.
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 COLUMNS function is as follows −
=COLUMNS(array)
Arguments
You can use the following arguments with the COLUMNS function −
| Argument | Description | Required / Optional |
|---|---|---|
| Array | An array formula, a cell reference, and a cell range upon which you are willing to count the number of columns. | Required |
Points to Remember
- In Microsoft Excel, the =COLUMNS (1:1) formula retrieves the number of Columns, i.e., 16384.
Examples of COLUMNS Functions
Practice the following example to learn the use of the COLUMNS function in Excel.
Example 1: How to Apply the COLUMNS Function in Excel?
In this example, we will apply the COLUMNS function to calculate the total number of Columns in the specific range of cells.
Solution
Step 1 − First, Deliberate a desired worksheet, select the B3 cell, and write the formula =COLUMNS(1:1).
After that, press the Enter tab to obtain the resulting value.
Step 2 − Moreover, write the formula =COLUMNS(D2:E15) in the B4 cell.
Then, hit the Enter tab to get the resulting value.
Therefore, the COLUMNS function retrieves the total number of columns, 2
Step 3 − Afterward, select the cell B5 and enter the formula =COLUMNS(D2:T5).
Hence, the resulting value is 17.
Step 4 − Similarly, you can calculate the COLUMNS function in the array constant. You may enter the formula =COLUMNS({7,8,9,10;1,4,5,6;11,13,15,16}). In this array formula, there are four entries 7,8,9 19 in the first row, a further four entries in the 1,4,5,6 in the second row, and the third row contains the values 11,13,15 and 16.
Therefore, the number of columns is 4.
Example 2: Extracting the Last Cell Value in the Array using the INDEX, ROW, and COLUMNS Functions
In this example, the value of the last cell will be extracted by combining the INDEX, ROW, and COLUMNS functions.
Solution
Step 1 − First, assume the sample dataset where the random numbers are specified in the cell range B2:E4.
Step 2 − After that, enter the formula =INDEX(B2:E4,ROW(B3),COLUMNS(A4:D4)) in the C6 cell.
Explanation
- In this formula, we have selected the range of cells B2:E4 in the first argument.
- The ROW(B3) gives the third row of the cell range B2:E4.
- The COLUMNS(A4:D4) count the number of columns in the cell range A4:D4 and give you the result of 4.
- In the simpler way, the expression becomes =INDEX(B2:E4,3,4), which means the cell value at the intersection point(3,4) will be extracted from the array.
Finally, hit the Enter tab to get the result, which is 98.
Download Practice Sheet
You can download and use the sample data sheet to practice the COLUMNS function.
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