How to Calculate the Number of Characters in a String in Excel

Sometimes, you may want to know how many characters are in a text string in Excel. For example, you may want to count the number of letters in a word, the number of digits in a number, or the length of an email address. This can be useful for various purposes, such as data validation, text analysis, or formatting.

In this article, we will show you how to calculate the number of characters in a string in Excel using different methods. We will also explain the basic theory behind each method and provide a detailed example with real numbers.

There are two main ways to calculate the number of characters in a string in Excel: using a formula or using a function.

Using a Formula

A formula is an expression that performs a calculation on one or more values. You can use a formula to calculate the number of characters in a string by using the LEN function. The LEN function returns the length of a text string, which is the number of characters in it. The syntax of the LEN function is:

=LEN(text)

where text is the text string that you want to measure. You can enter the text directly in the function, or refer to a cell that contains the text.

For example, if you want to calculate the number of characters in the word “Hello”, you can use the formula:

=LEN("Hello")

or, if the word “Hello” is in cell A1, you can use the formula:

=LEN(A1)

Both formulas will return 5, which is the number of characters in the word “Hello”.

Using a Function

A function is a predefined formula that performs a specific calculation. Excel has many built-in functions that you can use to perform various tasks. One of the functions that you can use to calculate the number of characters in a string is the LEN function, which we have already discussed. Another function that you can use is the N function. The N function converts a value to a number. The syntax of the N function is:

=N(value)

where value is the value that you want to convert to a number. You can enter any value in the function, such as a text, a logical value, an error value, or a blank value. The N function will return a number based on the following rules:

• If the value is a number, the N function will return the same number.
• If the value is a text, the N function will return 0.
• If the value is TRUE, the N function will return 1.
• If the value is FALSE, the N function will return 0.
• If the value is an error value, the N function will return the error value.
• If the value is blank, the N function will return 0.

You can use the N function to calculate the number of characters in a string by combining it with the CODE function. The CODE function returns the numeric code for the first character in a text string. The syntax of the CODE function is:

=CODE(text)

where text is the text string that you want to get the code for. You can enter the text directly in the function, or refer to a cell that contains the text.

For example, if you want to get the code for the first character in the word “Hello”, you can use the formula:

=CODE("Hello")

or, if the word “Hello” is in cell A1, you can use the formula:

=CODE(A1)

Both formulas will return 72, which is the code for the letter “H” in the ASCII system.

To calculate the number of characters in a string using the N and CODE functions, you need to use the following formula:

=N(CODE(text)&text)

where text is the text string that you want to measure. This formula works by concatenating the code for the first character and the text string, and then converting the result to a number using the N function. The number that is returned by the N function is the number of characters in the text string.

For example, if you want to calculate the number of characters in the word “Hello” using this method, you can use the formula:

=N(CODE("Hello")&"Hello")

or, if the word “Hello” is in cell A1, you can use the formula:

=N(CODE(A1)&A1)

Both formulas will return 572, which is the number of characters in the word “Hello”.

Procedures

To calculate the number of characters in a string in Excel using either of the methods described above, you need to follow these steps:

1. Enter the text string that you want to measure in a cell, or select a cell that already contains the text string.
2. In another cell, enter the formula that corresponds to the method that you want to use. For example, if you want to use the LEN function, enter the formula =LEN(text), where text is the cell that contains the text string. If you want to use the N and CODE functions, enter the formula =N(CODE(text)&text), where text is the cell that contains the text string.
3. Press Enter to complete the formula and get the result. The result will be the number of characters in the text string.

Example

Let’s see an example of how to calculate the number of characters in a string in Excel using both methods. Suppose we have the following text strings in column A:

We want to calculate the number of characters in each text string using both the LEN function and the N and CODE functions. To do this, we enter the following formulas in column B and column C, respectively:

After entering the formulas and pressing Enter, we get the following results:

As you can see, the LEN function returns the number of characters in each text string, while the N and CODE functions return a different number that is based on the code for the first character and the text string. Both methods can handle different types of values, such as numbers, logical values, error values, and blank values.