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Lookup function
AREAS
Returns the number of areas in a reference.
Rarely usedDifficulty 1200 · ProficientUsage rank #259 of 520
When to use it
How many separate areas a reference contains. A reference with several ranges is written inside an extra pair of parentheses.
The shape of it
- Syntax
=AREAS(reference)
Worked examples
Single range
=AREAS(A1:B3) → 1
One block.
Two blocks
=AREAS((A1:B3,D1:E3)) → 2
Two blocks in one reference.
Named multi-area range
=AREAS(MyRanges) → 3
A named range built from three areas.
Worth knowing
- Rarely needed; INDEX with an area number can pick one block from a multi-area name.
- The double parentheses are required for the union.
- Useful when validating a user-defined name.
Where it goes wrong
- #VALUE! when the argument is not a reference.
- Whole-sheet references count as 1 area.
Related
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