Concatenate maximum number of parameters
 

I need to consolidate the results of all the sheets of a workbook in a final
sheet. For this I use the concatenate function. To try to organize the
results, I added a comma in between each value (",",) but since the formula
requires the name of each tab and cell and some of the names of the tabs are
kind of long, I am getting an error message about entering too many
parameters. My workaround was to remove some of the commas at the end of the
formula, and the formula works now this way, but now the results look
difficult to understand.

Could someone please tell me what the limit of parameters is and if is there
a way to solve this?


Jorge E Jaramillo

Answer: Concatenate maximum number of parameters
 

Hi Jorge,

The maximum number of parameters that can be used in the concatenate function in Excel is 255. If you exceed this limit, you will get an error message.

One way to solve this issue is to break up the concatenate formula into smaller parts. For example, you can use multiple concatenate formulas in different cells and then combine the results using another concatenate formula. Here's an example:

Let's say you have three sheets named "Sheet1", "Sheet2", and "Sheet3". You want to concatenate the values in cells A1, B1, and C1 of each sheet and display the results in cell A1 of a new sheet named "Consolidated".

1. In cell A1 of the "Consolidated" sheet, enter the following formula:
   
   
   Code:

   ---

   =CONCATENATE(Sheet1!A1,",",Sheet1!B1,",",Sheet1!C1,",",Sheet2!A1,",",Sheet2!B1,",",Sheet2!C1,",",Sheet3!A1,",",Sheet3!B1,",",Sheet3!C1)

   ---

2. Since this formula has more than 255 parameters, we need to break it up into smaller parts. In cell B1 of the "Consolidated" sheet, enter the following formula:
   
   
   Code:

   ---

   =CONCATENATE(Sheet1!A1,",",Sheet1!B1,",",Sheet1!C1)

   ---

3. In cell C1 of the "Consolidated" sheet, enter the following formula:
   
   
   Code:

   ---

   =CONCATENATE(Sheet2!A1,",",Sheet2!B1,",",Sheet2!C1)

   ---

4. In cell D1 of the "Consolidated" sheet, enter the following formula:
   
   
   Code:

   ---

   =CONCATENATE(Sheet3!A1,",",Sheet3!B1,",",Sheet3!C1)

   ---

5. Finally, in cell E1 of the "Consolidated" sheet, enter the following formula to combine the results from cells A1, B1, C1, and D1:
   
   
   Code:

   ---

   =CONCATENATE(A1,",",B1,",",C1,",",D1)

   ---

This should give you the concatenated values from all three sheets in a single cell without exceeding the parameter limit.

Concatenate maximum number of parameters
 

Excel HELP for Concatenate will tell you the number of parameters limit for
the version you are using. In Excel 2003 it is 30.

But you don't have to use CONCATENATE() to concatenate things! And that
would remove the 30 parameter limit, moving you to the limit for a formula
(1024 characters in 2003).

Consider this example (that concatenates A1 on the sheet with the formula
with C4 from another sheet in the same book, and A7 on Sheet1 in another
workbook, with commas separating each):
=CONCATENATE(A1," , ",Sheet3!C4," , ",[Book2]Sheet1!$A$7)
can be written without CONCATENATE as
=A1 & " , " & Sheet3!C4 & " , " & [Book2]Sheet1!$A$7
with the same results.

"Jorge E. Jaramillo" wrote:

I need to consolidate the results of all the sheets of a workbook in a final
sheet. For this I use the concatenate function. To try to organize the
results, I added a comma in between each value (",",) but since the formula
requires the name of each tab and cell and some of the names of the tabs are
kind of long, I am getting an error message about entering too many
parameters. My workaround was to remove some of the commas at the end of the
formula, and the formula works now this way, but now the results look
difficult to understand.

Could someone please tell me what the limit of parameters is and if is there
a way to solve this?


Jorge E Jaramillo

Concatenate maximum number of parameters
 

If you used the CONCATENATE function then there's a limit to the number of
arguments which is Excel version dependent. Excel 2007 = 255 arguments, all
other versions = 30 arguments.

You don't need to use the CONCATENATE function. You can use the & operator
to concatenate.

=Sheet1!A1&", "&Sheet2!B20&", "&Sheet5!X101

Using this method you're only limited by the allowable max length for a
formula which, again, is version dependent. Excel 2007 = 8192 characters,
all other versions = 1024 characters.

--
Biff
Microsoft Excel MVP


"Jorge E. Jaramillo" wrote in
message ...
I need to consolidate the results of all the sheets of a workbook in a
final
sheet. For this I use the concatenate function. To try to organize the
results, I added a comma in between each value (",",) but since the
formula
requires the name of each tab and cell and some of the names of the tabs
are
kind of long, I am getting an error message about entering too many
parameters. My workaround was to remove some of the commas at the end of
the
formula, and the formula works now this way, but now the results look
difficult to understand.

Could someone please tell me what the limit of parameters is and if is
there
a way to solve this?


Jorge E Jaramillo

Concatenate maximum number of parameters
 

Thank you guys, I used the "&" and it worked.

But now I want to make it even more sophisticated. It is not uncommon that
some of the values are empty, so in the summary cell it is shown: AB1,
XO2,,VA5,,,,LN2 (being AB1, XO2,,VA5,,,,LN2 the contents of the original
cells and not having anything to do with the names of those cells).

Would it be possible to add a condition that if the origin cell is empty,
not to add the comma?

Jorge E Jaramillo
"Jorge E. Jaramillo" wrote:

I need to consolidate the results of all the sheets of a workbook in a final
sheet. For this I use the concatenate function. To try to organize the
results, I added a comma in between each value (",",) but since the formula
requires the name of each tab and cell and some of the names of the tabs are
kind of long, I am getting an error message about entering too many
parameters. My workaround was to remove some of the commas at the end of the
formula, and the formula works now this way, but now the results look
difficult to understand.

Could someone please tell me what the limit of parameters is and if is there
a way to solve this?


Jorge E Jaramillo

Concatenate maximum number of parameters
 

Copy this UDF to a general module in your workbook.

Function ConCatRange(CellBlock As Range) As String
'for non-contiguous cells =ccr((a1:a10,c4,c6,e1:e5))
Dim Cell As Range
Dim sbuf As String
For Each Cell In CellBlock
If Len(Cell.text) 0 Then sbuf = sbuf & Cell.text & ","
Next
ConCatRange = Left(sbuf, Len(sbuf) - 1)
End Function

It will ignore blank cells.

Usage is =concatrange(range)


Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP

On Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:52:02 -0700, Jorge E. Jaramillo
wrote:

Thank you guys, I used the "&" and it worked.

But now I want to make it even more sophisticated. It is not uncommon that
some of the values are empty, so in the summary cell it is shown: AB1,
XO2,,VA5,,,,LN2 (being AB1, XO2,,VA5,,,,LN2 the contents of the original
cells and not having anything to do with the names of those cells).

Would it be possible to add a condition that if the origin cell is empty,
not to add the comma?

Jorge E Jaramillo
"Jorge E. Jaramillo" wrote:

I need to consolidate the results of all the sheets of a workbook in a final
sheet. For this I use the concatenate function. To try to organize the
results, I added a comma in between each value (",",) but since the formula
requires the name of each tab and cell and some of the names of the tabs are
kind of long, I am getting an error message about entering too many
parameters. My workaround was to remove some of the commas at the end of the
formula, and the formula works now this way, but now the results look
difficult to understand.

Could someone please tell me what the limit of parameters is and if is there
a way to solve this?


Jorge E Jaramillo