Longest Entry in Columns

[Rebecca]

Hi. What is the best / quickest way to find the longest entry (most
characters / numbers, etc.) in a column? Thanks.

 

[Biff]

Hi!

This array formula entered with the key combo of
CTRL,SHIFT,ENTER will tell you how long the longest entry
is in a range of cells:

=MAX(LEN(A1:A100))

If you want to identify that entry, you could use
conditional formatting:

Select the range A1:A100
Goto Format>Conditional Formatting
Formula is: =LEN(A1)=MAX(LEN(A$1:A$100))
Click the Format button and select a background fill color
OK out

Biff

 

[Biff]

P.S. -

If you want the longest entry in a range of cells to be
returned in a formula:

Array entered with the key combo of CTRL,SHIFT,ENTER:

=INDEX(A1:A100,MATCH(TRUE,LEN(A1:A100)=MAX(LEN
(A1:A100)),0))

If more than one cell contains the longest entry the
formula will return the first instance of the longest
entry.

Biff