Google Sheetsspreadsheet~10 mins

LEN function in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

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Sample Data

This data shows different text strings in column A, including words, a space, numbers as text, and an empty cell.

Formula Trace

=LEN(A2)

Step 1: A2

Step 2: LEN("World!")

Cell Reference Map

    A   
1 |Hello 
2 |World!<-- LEN uses this cell
3 |     
4 |12345 
5 |

The LEN function references cell A2 which contains the text 'World!'.

Result

    A    |  B  
1 | Hello |     
2 | World!|  6  
3 |       |     
4 | 12345 |     
5 |       |

The formula =LEN(A2) placed in cell B2 returns 6, the number of characters in 'World!'.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

Test your understanding

What does LEN(A1) return if A1 contains 'Hello'?

Key Result

LEN(text) returns the number of characters in the given text, including spaces and punctuation.