COLUMNS

Microsoft Office Excel 2003

See Also

Returns the number of columns in an array or reference.

Syntax

COLUMNS(array)

Array    is an array or array formula, or a reference to a range of cells for which you want the number of columns.

Example

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.

Show How?

  1. Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
  2. Select the example in the Help topic. Do not select the row or column headers.

    Selecting an example from Help

    Selecting an example from Help

  3. Press CTRL+C.
  4. In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
  5. To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Tools menu, point to Formula Auditing, and then click Formula Auditing Mode.
 
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Formula Description (Result)
=COLUMNS(C1:E4) Number of columns in the reference (3)
=COLUMNS({1,2,3;4,5,6}) Number of columns in the array constant (3)