LEN

Also applies to:

LENB

LEN returns the number of characters in a text string.

LENB returns the number of bytes used to represent the characters in a text string. This function is for use with double-byte characters.

Syntax

LEN(text)

LENB(text)

Text is the text whose length you want to find. Spaces count as characters.

Example (LEN)

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

Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
Select the example in the Help topic. Do not select the row or column headers.

Selecting an example from Help
Press CTRL+C.
In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Tools menu, point to Formula Auditing, and then click Formula Auditing Mode.

A
Data
Phoenix, AZ

One
Formula	Description (Result)
=LEN(A2)	Length of the first string (11)
=LEN(A3)	Length of the second string (0)
=LEN(A4)	Length of the third string, which includes 5 spaces (8)

Example (LENB)

=LENB("") equals 6