Returns the number of areas in a reference. An area is a range of contiguous cells or a single cell.

Syntax

AREAS(reference)

Reference is a reference to a cell or range of cells and can refer to multiple areas. If you want to specify several references as a single argument, then you must include extra sets of parentheses so that Microsoft Excel will not interpret the comma as a field separator. See the following example.

Example

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.

How to copy an example

  1. Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
  2. Select the example in the Help topic.

    Note Do not select the row or column headers.

    selecting an example from helpSelecting an example from Help

  3. Press CTRL+C.
  4. In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
  5. To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click the Show Formulas button.
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Formula Description (Result)
=AREAS(B2:D4) Number of areas in the range (1)
=AREAS((B2:D4,E5,F6:I9)) Number of areas in the range (3)
=AREAS(B2:D4 B2) Number of areas in the range (1)


See also: