MS Excel: Columns Function

In Excel, the Columns function returns the number of columns in a cell reference.

The syntax for the Columns function is:

Columns( reference )

reference is a reference to a range of cells or an array.

Applies To:

Let's take a look at an example:

=Columns(B4) would return 1

=Columns(A4:B6) would return 2

=Columns({1,2;3,4}) would return 2

=Columns({1,2,3,4;5,6,7,8}) would return 4

You can also defined a named range called suppliers that refers to Sheet1!$A$1:$C$8.

Then using the Columns function, you could refer to this named range as follows:

=Columns(suppliers) would return 3