=COUNTA([book2.xls]Sheet1!$A$1:$A$2)
or
=COUNTA([book2.xls]Sheet1!A1:A2)

I'd let excel do the work.

Open the other workbook.
Then in the cell that's going to contain the formula, type:
=counta(
And then go to the "sending" sheet and select the range.

Excel will use absolute references ($A$1 instead of A1), but you can use F4 to
cycle through the reference styles.


Alan wrote:

It's referencing another workbook that's confusing me. When counting items
in another worksheet I'm using COUNTA(worksheet!a1:a2) and I get a valid
number. However, when counting items in another workbook I'm using
COUNTA(workbook:worksheet!a1:a2) and my response is "1". The count should be
over 100. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks.

--

Dave Peterson