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MS Excel: Choose Function


In Excel, the Choose function returns a value from a list of values based on a given position.

The syntax for the Choose function is:

Choose( position, value1, value2, ... value_n )

position is position number in the list of values to return. It must be a number between 1 and 29.

value1, value2, ... value_n is a list of up to 29 values. A value can be any one of the following: a number, a cell reference, a defined name, a formula/function, or a text value.


Note:

If position is less than 1, the Choose function will return #VALUE!.

If position is greater than the number of the number of values in the list, the Choose function will return #VALUE!.

If position is a fraction (not an integer value), it will be converted to an integer by dropping the fractional component of the number.


Applies To:

  • Excel 2007, Excel 2003, Excel XP, Excel 2000

For example:

Let's take a look at an example:

=Choose(1, "Tech", "on", "the", "Net") would return "Tech"
=Choose(2, "Tech", "on", "the", "Net") would return "on"
=Choose(3, "Tech", "on", "the", "Net") would return "the"
=Choose(4, "Tech", "on", "the", "Net") would return "Net"
=Choose(5, "Tech", "on", "the", "Net") would return #VALUE!
=Choose(3.75, "Tech", "on", "the", "Net") would return "the"

VBA Code

The Choose function can also be used in VBA code. For example:

Dim LValue As String

LValue = Choose(1, "Tech", "on", "the", "Net")

In this example, the variable called LValue would contain "Tech" as a value.