Excel - Master Excel Text Analysis: Overcoming the COUNT Function | Excel Tutorial - Episode 955

Microsoft Excel Tutorial: Master Excel Text Analysis: Overcoming the COUNT Function.

Welcome back to the MrExcel netcast, where we tackle all your Excel questions and problems. I'm Bill Jelen and today we're going to be discussing how to count text in Excel.
As we all know, Excel is a powerful tool for analyzing large amounts of data. But what happens when that data includes text entries? This is where the COUNT function falls short. It is designed to only count numeric items, leaving us with an incomplete analysis.
But fear not, there is a solution. The COUNTA function is designed to count both numeric and text entries. It counts all non-blank cells, giving us a more accurate count of our data. So if you need to get a total count, use COUNTA instead of COUNT.
But what if you only want to count the text entries? Well, we can use a combination of functions to achieve this. First, use COUNTA to count all entries. Then, subtract the COUNT function, which will only count numeric items. This will leave us with the count of text entries. It's a simple workaround that can save you a lot of frustration.
I want to thank Andy from Cincinnati for sending in this question and I hope this video has helped you with your Excel needs. Don't forget to like and subscribe for more helpful Excel tips and tricks. Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time on the MrExcel netcast."

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Andy wonders why the COUNT function doesn't count text entries. Episode 955 will show you how to overcome this with COUNTA.

This video is the podcast companion to the book, Learn Excel 97-2007 from MrExcel. Download a new two minute video every workday to learn one of the 377 tips from the book!

Table of Contents:
(00:00) Introduction
(00:06) Analyzing Data with Pivot Tables
(00:14) Question from Andy
(00:21) Using COUNT Function
(00:32) Issue with Non-Numeric Data
(00:41) Using "Edit" "Replace" Function
(00:50) Failure of COUNT Function
(00:57) Solution: Using COUNTA Function
(01:04) Difference between COUNT and COUNTA
(01:18) Recap: COUNT vs COUNTA
(01:41) Counting Only Text Entries
(01:57) Simple Solution
(02:01) Frustration with COUNT Function
(02:08) Clicking Like really helps the algorithm

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