Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 28, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021
Kenny has a row where the cells can be either blank or contain a value ranging from 1 to 135. He needs a formula that will return the address of the first cell in the row that contains a value (not a blank) that is less than or equal to 100.
There are a number of different ways this could be approached. Assuming the values are in row 8, the following formula provides a relatively concise way of deriving the address:
=ADDRESS(8,MATCH(1,(8:8<=100)*ISNUMBER(8:8),0),4,1)
Here's a variation that is just a bit shorter because it doesn't include the ISNUMBER function:
=ADDRESS(ROW(8:8),MATCH(1,(8:8<>"")*(8:8<=100),0))
Notice all the instances of 8 in these formulas. If your data is in a different row, then you should change each "8" to a number that represents the desired row. Plus, if you are using an older version of Excel that requires special treatment of array formulas, you'll want to enter these formulas using Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
You can also, if desired, create a user-defined function that will return the address. Here's an example of one that will work just fine:
Function FirstLE100(R As Long) As String
Dim C As Long
Application.Volatile
C = 1
FirstLE100 = "Not Found"
Do While C <= 16384
If Cells(R, C).Value <= 100 And Not IsEmpty(Cells(R, C).Value) Then
FirstLE100 = Cells(R, C).Address
Exit Do
End If
C = C + 1
Loop
End Function
The function accepts, as a parameter, a row number to be evaluated. So, for instance, if you wanted to work with row 9, you would use the following in your worksheet:
=FirstLE100(9)
The function returns the address of the first cell in the row that has a non-empty cell where the value contained is less than or equal to 100. It also works just fine with negative values.
If you don't want a full row evaluated, then you can modify the function so that it works just fine with a range instead:
Function FirstLE100(MyRange As Range) As String
Dim C As Range
Application.Volatile
FirstLE100 = "Not Found"
For Each C In MyRange.Cells
If C.Value <= 100 And Not IsEmpty(C.Value) Then
FirstLE100 = C.Address
Exit For
End If
Next C
End Function
In order to use this version you would simply supply a range that you want evaluated:
=FirstLE100(D5:AY5)
Note:
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2024-02-28 14:06:26
J. Woolley
In my most recent comment below I said, "...a formula that includes an array but returns a single value does not need to be entered using Ctrl+Shift+Enter in any version of Excel." I guess it depends on the formula, but determining which formulas qualify is too confusing. Therefore, for versions prior to Excel 2021 you should use Ctrl+Shift+Enter if the formula involves an array. This conforms to the advice of the current Tip and others like it. I apologize for my previous poor advice regarding this subject.
Excel's array formulas and functions are very useful, but their implementation in older versions is too cumbersome; therefore, I suggest anyone who is serious about Excel should upgrade to Excel 2021 or a newer version.
2023-10-30 10:20:51
J. Woolley
@Kiwerry
Thank you. As expected, a formula that includes an array but returns a single value does not need to be entered using Ctrl+Shift+Enter in any version of Excel.
The previous statement has a corollary that is also applicable to any version of Excel. If you select a SINGLE CELL and use Ctrl+Shift+Enter to enter a formula that returns an array like
=ISNUMBER(8:8)
the result is a single value which is the first element of the returned array.
2023-10-29 13:11:53
Kiwerry
@J . Woolley:
I copied =INDEX(ISNUMBER(8:8),1,1) into a cell in Excel 2010 and simply pressed Enter;
it worked as expected (Cell A8 contained a number, result TRUE), even when I changed the last argument to 2 (Cell B8 contained text, result FALSE). HTH.
2023-10-28 11:28:30
J. Woolley
The Tip does not explain how its first two formulas work. Using its second formula for example:
The array (8:8<>"")*(8:8<=100) contains 1 for each cell in row 8 that is not blank and is <=100; otherwise, it contains 0 for that cell. (The numeric value of TRUE is -1 and FALSE is 0. Multiplication converts TRUE AND TRUE to 1; if either is FALSE, the result is 0.)
MATCH(1,(8:8<>"")*(8:8<=100),0) returns the column number of the first cell in array (8:8<>"")*(8:8<=100) that is exactly 1 (TRUE AND TRUE).
ROW(8:8) returns row number 8.
ADDRESS(ROW(8:8),MATCH(...)) returns the final result in absolute A1 style (like $E$8). For relative A1 style, use ADDRESS(ROW(8:8),MATCH(...),4).
2023-10-28 10:47:23
J. Woolley
Excel 365 and 2021+ support dynamic arrays. I have a question about older versions that do not.
Each of the Tip's first two formulas include an array but return a single result. Do they really need to be entered using Ctrl+Shift+Enter in older versions of Excel?
I recognize this formula
=ISNUMBER(8:8)
returns an array with 1 row and all columns, so in older versions it must be entered by first selecting all of row 8 then pressing Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
But the following formula returns a single result from the array:
=INDEX(ISNUMBER(8:8),1,1)
Do similar formulas that include an array but return a single result need to be entered using Ctrl+Shift+Enter in older versions of Excel? I ask this question because my Excel 365 supports dynamic array formulas, but I wonder how older versions work. Will someone with an older version please try the last example and report their result?
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