LEN
Counts how many characters are in text, spaces included. Helps check the length of a code or spot extra spaces.
LEN(text)- text
- The cell or text to count characters in.
Return value
A number: how many characters are in the text, spaces included.
Examples
Checking phone numbers
fx
A
B
C
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Phone (digits only)
Digits
5402123456
7712345678
660123456
6155012345
Sheet1
Details
LEN counts every character: letters, digits, spaces and punctuation.
It's most often used to check data. A US phone number has exactly 10 digits, and if LEN shows a different number, the cell has a mistake.
LEN looks at the value itself, not at how it's displayed. The number 1290 formatted as "$1,290" has a length of 4.
Common mistakes
- Invisible spaces count too. If the length is more than expected, check the edges of the cell.
- For a date, LEN counts the digits of the number the date is stored as, not what you see on the screen.
- A code with a leading zero was entered as a number: the zero disappeared, and LEN shows one digit less.