How can I count the number of specific characters in a column using Excel?

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This process involves using the “COUNTIF” function in Excel to count the number of specific characters in a column. First, select the column you want to count from and then use the formula “=COUNTIF(range, criteria)” where “range” is the range of cells you want to search and “criteria” is the specific character you want to count. This will return the total number of cells within the range that contain the specified character. This method is useful for quickly and accurately counting specific characters within a column in Excel.

Excel: Count Specific Characters in a Column

You can use the following formulas in Excel to count specific characters in a column:

Formula 1: Count Specific Characters in One Cell

=LEN(A2)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"r",""))

This particular formula counts the number of characters equal to “r” in cell A2.

Formula 2: Count Specific Characters in Entire Range

=SUMPRODUCT(LEN(A2:A11)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2:A11,"r","")))

This particular formula counts the number of characters equal to “r” in the entire range A2:A11.

The following examples show how to use each formula in practice with the following list of basketball team names in Excel:

Let’s jump in!

Example 1: Count Specific Characters in One Cell

We can type the following formula into cell B2 to count the number of characters equal to “r” in cell A2:

=LEN(A2)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"r",""))

We can then click and drag this formula down to each remaining cell in column B:

Column B now displays the total number of characters in the corresponding cell in column A that ar equal to “r”.

For example:

  • Mavs contains 0 characters equal to “r”
  • Spurs contains 1 character equal to “r”
  • Rockets contains 0 characters equal to “r”

And so on.

Note: This formula is case-sensitive.

Example 2: Count Specific Characters in Entire Range

We can type the following formula into cell D1 to count the number of characters equal to “r” in the entire range A2:A11:

=SUMPRODUCT(LEN(A2:A11)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2:A11,"r","")))

The following screenshot shows how to use this formula in practice:

Excel count specific characters in column

The formula tells us that there are a total of 7 characters equal to “r” among all cells in the range A2:A11.

Additional Resources

The following tutorials explain how to perform other common tasks in Excel:

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