Function Type:
Lookup and Reference
Description:
The COLUMN function in Excel or Google Sheets returns the column number of a reference.
Although we see alphabet being utilized as column indicators, this function would return a whole number.
A - 1
B - 2
C - 3
D - 4
E - 5
It is useful and frequently used combined with other Lookup and Reference functions such as INDEX, VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, OFFSET and ADDRESS.
I've personally used this function yesterday for my freelance service to a client together with ROW function. I used COLUMN function to find the column location of cell that is equal to the value that I am looking up in a range.
Imagine using VLOOKUP, but in reverse.
Function Structure:
=COLUMN(reference)
Argument Breakdown:
reference - A reference to a cell or range of cells.
PRO TIP:
If you leave this argument blank, the COLUMN function will return the row number of the cell that the formula is in.
=COLUMN()
Example:
Finding the COLUMN number of a cell
In the image above, we are asking Excel on which column do we find cell D2.
I know this function sounds silly (and useless) right now, but you'll see why we need this function when you start combining this with the other Lookup and Reference functions.
Finding the COLUMN number of a range of cells.
When we use COLUMN function with a range of cells as reference like in the image above, we get the first column of the range.
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