Offset function and Dynamic Ranges

[SandyLACA]

I just saw an example of this formula in an online newsletter:
=OFFSET(Data!$A$1,0,0,COUNTA(Data!$A$1:$A$19),COUNTA(Data!$1:$1))
I was trying it out and noticed that you have to place it with the upper
left cell in cell A1 of a worksheet for it to reproduce the data that it
refers to. Otherwise the #VALUE error appears. This is not how the OFFSET
function usually works for me and it seems to have something to do with the
COUNTA function appearing in the height and width arguments. I usually don't
use the height and width arguments at all. Could someone explain why this is
so and if there is a way to overcome this restriction?
Thanks for your help,
Sandy

 

[Bob Phillips]

It is not just A1, but any cell that maps onto that dynamic range, as it
gets the value relative to the cell the formula is in.

For example, if the data on the Data worksheet has 10 rows of data in column
A, and 5 columns in row 1, this formula will work in any cell in the range
A1:E10.

--

HTH

Bob Phillips

(replace xxxx in the email address with gmail if mailing direct)

 

[Excelenator]

This formula is commonly used to dynamically name ranges of data tha
expand and contract (Mostly expand) frequently. This way you ca
always reference the data via the range name in formulas and as dat
sources for pivot tables etc.