How to use the ARRAY_CONSTRAIN function in Google Sheets?

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Syntactica Sophia
2 years ago

The ARRAY_CONSTRAIN function in Google Sheets is a powerful tool that allows users to limit the size of an array by specifying the number of rows and columns that should be included. This function can be especially useful when working with large data sets and you only need to view a specific portion of the data.

The syntax for using the ARRAY_CONSTRAIN function is as follows:

=ARRAY_CONSTRAIN(range, num_rows, num_columns)

Where:

  • range is the range of cells that you want to constrain.
  • num_rows is the number of rows you want to include in the constrained array.
  • num_columns is the number of columns you want to include in the constrained array.

For example, let's say you have a large data set in cells A1:E100 and you only want to view the first 10 rows and 3 columns. You could use the following formula:

=ARRAY_CONSTRAIN(A1:E100, 10, 3)

This will create a new array with 10 rows and 3 columns, starting from cell A1.

It's important to note that the range argument must be a two-dimensional array or a range of cells that contains multiple rows and columns.

Additionally, if you specify a number of rows or columns that is greater than the number of rows or columns in the original range, the function will return an error.

Overall, the ARRAY_CONSTRAIN function is a useful tool that can save you time when working with large data sets in Google Sheets. By limiting the size of the array, you can focus on the data that is most important and easily analyze it.