How to Count Cells with Text in Excel on PC or Mac

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: May 15, 2018

This wikiHow teaches you how to select a cell range in an Excel spreadsheet, and count the number of all the cells with text in them, using a computer.

Steps

1
Open the Excel file you want to edit on your computer. You can open Microsoft Excel and find your file on the saved spreadsheets list, or just double-click the file to open it.
2
Click an empty cell. Find an empty cell to insert your counting formula, and click it.

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3
Type =COUNTIF(range, criteria) in the empty cell. This formula will allow you to select a cell range, and count the number of cells with text in them.
4
Replace range with the cell range you want to count. Enter your first and last cells in the range here, separated by a colon.
- For example, if you're counting cells A1 to D6, enter A1:D6 here.
5
Replace criteria with "*" in the formula. This will count the number of all the cells with text in the selected range.
- For example, if you're counting cells A1 to D6, your final formula should look like =COUNTIF(A1:D6, "*").
6
Press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return on your keyboard. This will apply the formula, and count your cells. The number of cells with text in the selected range will show up in the formula cell.

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