Counting Cells

Need to count the cells in a worksheet range that contain data averages? Microsoft Excel supplies several easy-to-use functions for just such a purpose says bestselling computer book author Stephen L. Nelson

If you select a range of cells, you can have Excel find how many cells are in that range using the count functions. This sounds a little goofy, but a handful of easy-to-understand examples show how this works--and suggest when you might want to use the "cell counting" functions.

COUNT

To find the number of cells in a range that contain numbers (or dates, or textual representations of numbers), you use the COUNT function. This function does not count cells containing text or logical values like TRUE and FALSE, nor does it count empty cells.

The COUNT function uses the following syntax:

=COUNT (data set range)

For example, if you have a database of 100 customer survey responses, and column C contains numeric responses to the question if a customer chose to respond, you can find out how many people answered the question using the COUNT function.

COUNTA

The COUNTA function counts all cells in a range that aren’t empty, including cells with error values, logical values, and text.

The COUNTA function uses the following syntax:

=COUNTA(data set range)

COUNTBLANK

The COUNTBLANK function counts only blank cells.

The COUNTBLANK function uses the following syntax:

=COUNTBLANK (data set range)

COUNTIF

The COUNTIF function counts the cells that fit the criteria you specify.

The COUNTIF function uses two parameters, the data set range and the condition, in the following syntax:

=COUNTIF (data set range, condition)

For example, if you want to count cells that exactly match a number or value, just enter that number or value. To count cells that are greater than or less than a value, use the symbols >, >=, <, and 1.)

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