Apples and oranges... Array multiplication versus simply evaluating a
single, condition which just
happens to involve arrays.

If all items in A2:A500 do in fact = "5/27/2005", AND
all items in E2:E500 do in fact = "5098", your answer will be = 499
(provided you enter the formula as an array -- otherwise you get an error).

If EITHER not all items in A2:A500 = "5/27/2005", OR
not all items in E2:E500 = "5098", you get COUNT(FALSE) ... which for
reasons which I do not know, resolves to 1.

Why the latter puzzles me is because I know that counting an
array of numericals & logicals, whether entered as a regular or an array
formula will result in a count of only the numbers

yet this function count(FALSE) resolves to a value of 1 !!!


If you try it with SUM() instead of COUNT() you will get zero



"Bill Ridgeway" wrote in message
...
As a matter of curiosity what is the difference between

=COUNT(IF((A2:A500="5/27/2005")*(E2:E500="5098"),E2:E500))

=COUNT(IF(AND(A2:A500="5/27/2005",E2:E500="5098"),E2:E500))
(assuming you can have count/if/and)

Regards.

Bill Ridgeway
Computer Solutions

"Chip Pearson" wrote in message
...
It serves as an "AND" condition. In the formula,

(A2:A500="5/27/2005")
and
(E2:E500="5098")

return arrays of TRUE or FALSE values, each indicating the result of the
comparison. So, for example, you'll get two arrays like

{TRUE, TRUE, FALSE, .....} and {FALSE, TRUE, TRUE, ....}

The multiplication operator * multiplies these two arrays together; each
element in the first array is multiplied by the corresponding element in
the second array, and the result is an array of these products.

Since Excel treats TRUE as 1 and FALSE as 0, the resulting product of the
multiplication will be 1 (or TRUE) only when both operands are TRUE (or
1).

So, using the example arrays above, the result of the multiplication is

(0, 1, 0, ...)


--
Cordially,
Chip Pearson
Microsoft MVP - Excel
Pearson Software Consulting, LLC
www.cpearson.com




"Andrew Chalk" wrote in message
...
In the formula below, what does the asterisk '*' mean?

=COUNT(IF((A2:A500="5/27/2005")*(E2:E500="5098"),E2:E500))


Many thanks