Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Generating Double-Digit Random Numbers.

Generating Double-Digit Random Numbers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 23, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365


Venkataramanan needs to generate random numbers in the range of -99 to +99, excluding single-digit numbers (-9 to +9). He wonders if there is a way to accomplish the task.

There are a couple of worksheet functions that are often used to generate random numbers in Excel. The RAND function is used to generate a random number between 0 and 1, while the RANDBETWEEN function is used to generate a random number within a range of numbers.

There is no function to do what Venkataramanan wants to do, but you can write a formula that will do the trick. Consider this formula:

=IF(RAND()>0.5,1,-1)*(RANDBETWEEN(10,99))

The first RAND function determines if the result is '+' or '-' and the next RANDBETWEEN function returns the desired number between 10 and 99. When the function is done, you have the desired double-digit random number.

Another formula is similar in nature:

=ROUND(RAND()*89+10,0)*((RAND()<0.5)*2-1)

The first part generates whole numbers in the range of 0 through 89. The formula adds 10 to this, effectively giving a number from 10 to 99. The second part of the formula is then used to randomly determine whether the result should be positive or negative.

Another approach relies entirely on the RANDBETWEEN function and doesn't use any multiplication:

=VALUE(IF(RANDBETWEEN(0,1)=0,"-","")&RANDBETWEEN(1,9)&RANDBETWEEN(0,9))

The formula puts together a string that consists of either a minus sign or a blank followed by two digits. The formula then uses the VALUE function to convert the string to a numeric value. An even shorter version of the formula would be this:

=VALUE(IF(RANDBETWEEN(0,1)=0,"-","")&RANDBETWEEN(10,99))

Another similar formula is the following:

=RANDBETWEEN(10,99)*IF(RANDBETWEEN(0,1),1,-1)

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10611) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Generating Double-Digit Random Numbers.

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

Displaying a Single Page

When displaying the information in your document, Word is rather flexible. It can, if you so choose, display multiple ...

Discover More

Capitalizing the Word "I"

The first-person, singular pronoun "I" should always be capitalized, unless you are exercising poetic license. Word may ...

Discover More

Adjusting Mouse Click Sensitivity

Mouse not working as you expect? Here are a few things that may get things back to the way they should be.

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Counting Employees in Classes

Excel is very good at counting things, even when those things need to meet specific criteria. This tip shows how you can ...

Discover More

Only Showing the Maximum of Multiple Iterations

When you recalculate a worksheet, you can determine the maximum of a range of values. Over time, as those values change, ...

Discover More

Summing Every Fourth Cell in a Row

Need to sum a series of cells that fits some regular pattern? Here are several ways that you can get the summation that ...

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 7 - 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu 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.