This wikiHow teaches you how to count the number of cells that are not empty in a given cell range in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, using a computer. You can also count the number of empty cells, or cells that contain only numbers.
1Open the Excel spreadsheet you want to edit. Find the spreadsheet file you want to edit on your computer, and double-click on its icon to open its contents.
2Click an empty cell in the spreadsheet. This will be your formula cell. You can insert the counting formula into any empty cell in your spreadsheet.
3Click the tab at the top. You can find this button between the Page Layout and Data tabs above the toolbar ribbon at the top of your spreadsheet. It will open your formula tools on the toolbar ribbon.
4Click on the Formulas ribbon. This button looks like an orange book icon with three dots on the cover. It will open a drop-down list of some extra formula categories.
5Hover over on the More Functions menu. A sub-menu will pop out with a list of all the statistical formulas you can insert into your spreadsheet.
6Find and click on the Statistical menu. This will insert the counting formula into the selected empty cell.
- The COUNTA formula will count the number of cells that are not empty in a given cell range. You can also manually type =COUNTA into the cell.
- If you want to count the number of empty cells in a range, select the COUNTBLANK formula here.
- If you want to count the cells that contain numbers, select COUNT.
7Select the cell range you want to count. Click a cell in your spreadsheet, and drag your mouse to select a range. This will add all the cells in the selected range into your formula.
- You can also hold down Control on Windows or ⌘ Command on Mac, and click on a cell to select multiple cells.
8Press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return on your keyboard. This will count all the cells in the selected range, and return the result in the formula cell.
- For example, if there are 15 cells that are not empty in the selected cell range, you'll see 15 here.
About this article
1. Click an empty cell in your spreadsheet.
2. Click the Formulas bar at the top.
3. Click More Functions, hover over Statistical, and select COUNTA.
4. Click and drag your mouse to select a cell range.
5. Hit Enter or Return on your keyboard.