Formula: Count symbols in an RYG column

Scott Peloquin

I am trying to use a simple formula to count my number of different colored symbols in a column, RYG. I have many parent rows with 6 children each. 14 of the parent rows have a green symbol and all the others are currently blank, no symbols whatsoever. The formula I'm testing is =Count([Count Green:Count Green], ="green"). The column is named Count Green and is just a test column. The formula is returning a value of 15. I did a filter for all of the green symboled rows and I can visually verify that there are 14 green symbols.

My question: Why is the formula returning a value of 15 and not 14?

Mike Wilday

It's counting 15 because the =COUNT formula counts values in ranges, only. Your comma and "Green" is being counted as a green. So fourteen plus your additional "Green". What you need is a =Countif formula.

Try This: =Countif([Count Green]:[Count Green], "Green")

https://help.smartsheet.com/function/count

https://help.smartsheet.com/function/countif

Mike Wilday

It's counting 15 because the =COUNT formula counts values in ranges, only. Your comma and "Green" is being counted as a green. So fourteen plus your additional "Green". What you need is a =Countif formula.

Try This: =Countif([Count Green]:[Count Green], "Green")

https://help.smartsheet.com/function/count

https://help.smartsheet.com/function/countif

Scott Peloquin

Okay, that worked perfectly. I could have sworn I tried the COUNTIF but may have just gotten crazy screen eyes. Thank you for the help. Very much appreciated.

Mike Wilday

Absolutely! I always keep this link at hand when experiencing oddities with a formula:

https://help.smartsheet.com/functions

You can see the requirements for every function that smartsheet offers here and filter by key words. Hope that helps.

Travis Gibbons

What if I wanted to only count by 1 column and not the entire sheet?

Mike Wilday

The =Countifs formula will work with one column and criterion as well as many.

=Countifs([Symbol Column Name]:[Symbol Column Name], "Green")

will give you all the green in your symbol column. Just replace Symbol Column name with your actual column name. If you have no spaces in your column name - just remove the brackets.