How to count elements in a comma separated list?

Karen Davis

I am trying to write a formula to count the number of elements contained in a comma separated list in a single cell. I am new to Smartsheet and have tried using several functions with no luck. I know I am missing something but have not been able to figure it out.

Paul Newcome

Insert a multi-select dropdown column. Then we can insert a formula to substitute the comma with a line break. Once that is in place, you can use a COUNTM function to count how many options are "selected" in the multi-select column.

Formula for multi-select column:

=SUBSTITUTE([Text Column]@row, ",", CHAR(10))

Formula to get count:

=COUNTM([Multi-Select Column]@row)

Paul Newcome

Insert a multi-select dropdown column. Then we can insert a formula to substitute the comma with a line break. Once that is in place, you can use a COUNTM function to count how many options are "selected" in the multi-select column.

Formula for multi-select column:

=SUBSTITUTE([Text Column]@row, ",", CHAR(10))

Formula to get count:

=COUNTM([Multi-Select Column]@row)

Karen Davis

Thanks, Paul! That works!

Paul Newcome

Happy to help. 👍️