Using COUNTIF and LEFT Functions to Count Cells Beginning with a Certain Character

Excel is a Swiss army knife of functionality, with a myriad of built-in functions that you can mix and match to suit your needs. A handy trick is to use the COUNTIF and LEFT functions together to count the number of cells that begin with a certain character. Here's how to do it.

Understanding the Functions

Firstly, it's crucial to understand what the COUNTIF and LEFT functions do:

• COUNTIF: This function counts the number of cells within a range that meet a single condition.

• LEFT: This function extracts a specified number of characters from the beginning of a text string.

• COUNTIF function

• LEFT function

Combining COUNTIF and LEFT

The COUNTIF function normally cannot check for a condition based on partial text matches, but we can circumvent this by using the LEFT function in an array formula.

Suppose you have a range of cells (A1:A10), and you want to count cells starting with the letter 'A'. Here's what you can do:

1. In your chosen cell for the result, type the following formula and hit 'Enter': =SUM(--(LEFT(A1:A10,1)="A"))
2. Since this is an array formula, you need to enter it as an array formula by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Enter, instead of just Enter.

This formula checks the first character of each cell in the range (A1:A10). If the character is 'A', it counts the cell.

Note: Array formulas can be computationally intensive, so it's best to use them sparingly if you're working with large datasets.

3. Excel array formulas, functions and constants - examples and guidelines

By combining the COUNTIF and LEFT functions in Excel, you can count the number of cells in a range that start with a specific character. This tutorial provides you with a step-by-step process for achieving this.