Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Counting Commas in a Selection.

Counting Commas in a Selection

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 17, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


1

At work, Mark regularly needs to count the number of commas in a range of selected cells. He can't find an Excel function to do this type of task, and is wondering if a macro might be able to do the trick.

While there is no worksheet function that will produce the desired count, there is a formula or two you can use. If you just want to know the number of cells that have at least one comma in them, the following formula will work just fine:

=COUNTIF(A1:A10,"*,*")

If you, instead, need to figure out the number of commas in the range when there could be multiple commas per cell, then you need to use a different formula:

=SUM(LEN(A1:A10))-SUM(LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A1:A10,",","")))

This formula should be entered as an array formula, which means that you should use Ctrl+Shift+Enter to enter the formula. If you need to derive the count for a different range, just change the range in two places in the formula.

If you prefer, you could also create a user-defined function to count the number of commas. There are multiple ways to approach such a task; the following is just one example.

Function CountComma(rng As Range)
    Dim iCount As Integer
    Dim rCell As Range
    Dim sTemp As String

    Application.Volatile
    iCount = 0
    For Each rCell In rng
        sTemp = Application.WorksheetFunction. _
          Substitute(rCell.Value, ",", "")
        iCount = iCount + _
          (Len(rCell.Value) - Len(sTemp))
    Next
    CountComma = iCount
    Set rCell = Nothing
    Set rng = Nothing
End Function

In order to use the function in the worksheet, enter the following into a cell:

=CountComma(A1:A10)

All of these methods described so far will count commas that are actually in the cell. They will not count commas that appear to be in the cell because of formatting. For instance, if a number appears as "1,234" in a cell, chances are good that the comma is there because of the way that the cell is formatted; it is not really in the cell itself. Such commas are not counted.

Of course, if all you need to do is know the number of commas and you don't need the value in your worksheet, you can bypass the use of formulas and macros all together. Follow these general steps:

  1. Select the range of cells in which you want to count commas.
  2. Press Ctrl+H to display the Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
  3. In the Find What box, enter a comma.
  4. In the Replace With box, enter a comma.
  5. Click Replace All.

Excel does the replacement and displays a dialog box that shows how many replacements were made.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3460) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Counting Commas in a Selection.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Controlling Endnote Placement

Endnotes are often used in technical and scholarly documents. You can control exactly where the endnotes appear in your ...

Discover More

Friendly and Informative Error Handling

When creating macros, it is helpful to know what is going on within the macro itself in case an error crops up. Here's ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of the "Enable Macros" Notice

Do you get tired of the dialog box that says "do you want to enable macros" that is displayed when you open a workbook. ...

Discover More

Dive Deep into Macros! Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create powerful automated reports. Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad help you instantly visualize information to make it actionable. You’ll find step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and 50 workbooks packed with examples and solutions. Check out Microsoft Excel 2019 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Running Macros on Hidden Worksheets

Excel allows you to hide worksheets so that they aren't visible to those using your workbook. Hiding worksheets has a ...

Discover More

Mouse Click Event in VBA

Need to know if a particular cell is clicked with the mouse? Excel has no particular event handler for clicking in this ...

Discover More

Displaying the First Worksheet in a Macro

When creating macros, you often have to know how to display individual worksheets. VBA provides several ways you can ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four more than 6?

2022-09-25 18:51:38

ragahd

I think that the best month in Michigan is June because it's not too hot not too cold and the flowers and trees are in full bloom


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.