Excel: Direction of Values in Array Functions

• Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 1.x, 2.x, 3.0, 4.0

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel, array results from function macros or worksheet functions that return arrays will have a specific direction.

This direction is determined by the use of commas or semicolons as delimiters in the list of values. Values within a row of an array are separated by commas; rows of an array are separated by semicolons.

The LINEST and LOGEST worksheet functions return direction-specific arrays. The returned arrays are horizontal, which means that they use commas as separators. To use either of these functions, select a range of cells that is one-row-by-two-columns in size.

Other worksheet functions that return arrays, such as GROWTH, TREND, and TRANSPOSE, are not direction specific. The direction of the arrays resulting from these functions is determined by the direction of the values given to the function as parameters.

MORE INFORMATION

The following are examples of arrays separated by commas and semicolons:

Array 1

1. Select A1:C1.

2. Enter "={1,2,3}" (without quotation marks). Press COMMAND+ENTER.

   A1: 1   B1: 2    C1: 3

1. Select A2:A4.

2. Enter "={1;2;3}" (without quotation marks). Press COMMAND+ENTER.

   A2: 1
   A3: 2
   A4: 3

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Excel User's Guide 2," version 4.0, pages 8-11

"Microsoft Excel User's Guide," version 3.0, pages 271-274

"Microsoft Excel Reference," version 2.2, pages 10-23