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Math function
RAND
Returns a random decimal between 0 and 1, recalculated on every change.
Very commonDifficulty 1000 · CapableUsage rank #127 of 520
When to use it
Returns a random decimal between 0 and 1, recalculated whenever the sheet does. Scale it for other ranges, or freeze it by copying and pasting as values.
The shape of it
- Syntax
=RAND()
Worked examples
A random fraction
=RAND() → 0.731876…
A new value on every recalculation.
Scale it
=RAND()*100 → 73.19…
Scaled to 0 to 100.
Random integer
=INT(RAND()*6)+1 → 4
A dice roll: an integer from 1 to 6. RANDBETWEEN(1,6) is the direct way.
Worth knowing
- Volatile. Paste as values to freeze the numbers.
- Press F9 to reroll. Copy, then Paste Special, Values, to lock the numbers in.
- Random sort: put =RAND() next to a list and sort by it, or use SORTBY(list,RANDARRAY(ROWS(list))).
- For a random normal value use NORM.INV(RAND(),mean,sd).
Where it goes wrong
- Every edit anywhere in the workbook changes the values, which makes results hard to reproduce.
- Not cryptographically secure; do not use it for anything security related.
Related
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