Count number of characters in a range of cells

Many may be familiar with the common LEN Excel formula which will count the number of characters in a cell. You may also have cause to want to calculate the number of characters in a range of cells. For example, you may need to check which columns in a spreadsheet with many columns have entries.

In order to accomplish this task, you can use an array formula that combines the SUM formula with the LEN formula

=SUM(LEN(G1:G2000))

Press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER when entering an array formula like this.

When entering the formula, you need to press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER. It's an array formula.