How does cell function work?

Understanding the CELL Function in Excel: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction

The CELL function in Microsoft Excel is a versatile tool that enables users to retrieve specific information about a cell’s characteristics, including its location, content, and formatting. This function is designed to provide a granular level of detail, allowing you to extract data that is not readily apparent through direct observation.

Syntax and Arguments

The syntax of the CELL function is:

=CELL(info_type, cell_reference)

where:

• info_type is a code that specifies the type of data you want to retrieve about the cell.
• cell_reference is the address of the cell you want to examine.

Data Types Supported by CELL Function

The CELL function supports a wide range of data types, including:

• Addressing (Address): Returns the absolute address of the cell.
• Cell contents (Contents): Returns the value or formula stored in the cell.
• Column width (Column): Returns the width of the column containing the cell.
• Data format (Format): Returns the data format code applied to the cell.
• File path (Filename): Returns the file path of the workbook containing the cell.
• Font name (Font): Returns the font name used in the cell.
• Horizontal alignment (HAlign): Returns a number representing the horizontal alignment of the cell’s contents.
• Worksheet number (Index): Returns the index number of the worksheet containing the cell.
• Row height (Row): Returns the height of the row containing the cell.
• Sheet name (Sheet): Returns the name of the worksheet containing the cell.
• Text orientation (Orientation): Returns a number representing the text orientation of the cell’s contents.
• Vertical alignment (VAlign): Returns a number representing the vertical alignment of the cell’s contents.
• Number format code (Value): Returns the number format code applied to the cell’s value.
• Protection (Protect): Returns TRUE if the cell is locked or hidden, otherwise FALSE.
• Type (Type): Returns a number indicating the data type of the cell’s contents.

Example Usage

To retrieve the absolute address of cell A1, you would use the formula:

=CELL("address", A1)

This would return the value “$A$1”.

To determine the contents of cell C5, you would use the formula:

=CELL("contents", C5)

This would return the value of the cell, which could be a text string, number, or formula.

To get the row height of row 10, you would use the formula:

=CELL("row", 10)

This would return the height of row 10 in pixels.

Conclusion

The CELL function in Excel is a powerful tool that provides granular control over the information you can extract from a cell. By understanding the various data types it supports and using the appropriate syntax, you can leverage this function to enhance your data analysis and manipulation tasks.