counta function can any one explain the example counting 2

[pete the greek]

in help there are examples for counta

i can see what is happening when it just has 1 value ie:
a range as in the first two examples

but cant see what is happening in the third ex

a1:a6 is 6 non blanks

there are five "2" but the result is 7 not 11


A
1 Data
2 Sales
3 12/8/2008
4
4 19
6 22.24
7 TRUE
8 #DIV/0!

Formula Description (Result)
=COUNTA(A2:A8) Counts the number of nonblank cells in the list above (6)
=COUNTA(A5:A8) Counts the number of nonblank cells in the last 4 rows of the
list (4)
=COUNTA(A1:A7,2) Counts the number of nonblank cells in the list above and
the value 2 (7)
=COUNTA(A1:A7,"Two") Counts the number of nonblank cells in the list above
and the value "Two" (7)

 

[Guest]

Hi

Your last two formulae are counting the number of non-blanks (6) and also
the number 2 (or the word "two") - giving a total of 7

Andy.

 

[pete the greek]

hi andy

the number 2 appears 5 times but the value 2 doesnt actually appear at all
also the word two isnt in the list so it cant count it /// confusing or what

 

[Guest]

If you select a blank cell and type
=COUNTA
and then hit Ctrl+A. The dialog box that appears may help you understand.
Type anything in the Value1 box, and the result at the bottom will be 1.
Type anything in the Value2 box, and the result will be 2, etc. etc.

Post the results you were hoping for from your examples.

Andy.

 

[pete the greek]

hi

tried that before i posted and this appear to sugest that its not looking
for a "2" or "two" it is just couting the fact that you have these two values
in the list of arguments and i cannot see why you would need to do this, you
could make values 1to30 the numbers 1 to 30 and the result would be 30.work
more like i would expect if you make value1 and 2 a range ie value1 b1:b5 and
value2 c1:c5.

there seems no sense in putting a number in the value fields as it doesnt
look for it