COLUMN in SoftMaker PlanMaker: Column Numbers and Horizontal Arrays

COLUMN is a worksheet position function. Use it to label adjacent periods by column, determine the numerical location of a column, or generate a horizontal array of column numbers. It does not return the value stored in a cell and it is not the same as COLUMNS, which counts how many columns a range includes.

=COLUMN([Reference])

• Reference (optional): a worksheet cell address (D2) or cell range (D2:F4). The input is a reference token; the text string "D2" is not the documented form.
• Omitted Reference: =COLUMN() returns the column number of the cell containing the formula (A = 1, B = 2, C = 3). This is location-based, not a fixed default number.
• Single-cell reference: one column index, independent of the referenced row number.
• Multi-cell range: a horizontal array of the column indexes occurring in that range; SoftMaker says to enter it as an array formula to obtain the complete array.

[Reference] uses square brackets to denote an optional argument. It is not literal formula text. Because COLUMN takes at most one argument, the examples do not depend on a comma/semicolon argument separator. Array display uses commas in the English manual; when nesting functions or typing array constants, use separators accepted by your locale. PlanMaker’s array guide explains that separators for literal array constants can depend on country settings. Do not confuse the documented {4,5,6} output with a formula you should type manually.

Enter the formulas into any suitable blank result cells:

The first example appears in the vendor documentation. The others use the standard A1 coordinate mapping and were independently calculated; none was observed in installed PlanMaker.

Click C5, type =COLUMN() and press Enter. Expected displayed number: 3. In another empty cell, F5, enter the same formula: expected number: 6. When you copy the expression across a row, the result follows the destination column.

This makes COLUMN useful for a worksheet where the column’s meaning changes when you copy formulas horizontally. Do not treat it as a permanent identifier: inserting, moving, or reordering columns can change which number a formula returns.

In B6:E6 enter four headings such as Jan, Feb, Mar and Apr. In B7, enter:

=COLUMN()-COLUMN($B$6)+1

Copy that formula to C7:E7. Expected results across B7:E7: 1, 2, 3, 4. Explanation: current columns B, C, D and E correspond to coordinates 2, 3, 4 and 5; subtracting the fixed B6 coordinate 2 and adding 1 produces 1–4. This is a documentation-derived independently calculated example. For stable report IDs, prefer stored labels instead of location-derived values.

SoftMaker’s official example COLUMN(D2:F4) produces the horizontal three-element array {4,5,6}—one number per distinct column, not nine numbers for the nine cells in the rectangular input.

In PlanMaker 2026, select an empty H2:J2 range (one row, three columns), type =COLUMN(D2:F4), then finish with Ctrl+Shift+Enter to confirm the array formula as instructed in SoftMaker’s array chapter. Expected values: H2 = 4, I2 = 5, J2 = 6. This workflow is vendor-documented; it was not run in an installed PlanMaker. The documentation’s Android/iOS path uses an optional Insert array formula command rather than a desktop shortcut.

Output dimensions matter. Selecting a horizontal output of four cells for the three-element array can produce #N/A in the extra cell, as the vendor’s general array guide documents. Selecting too few output cells hides some elements. Do not confuse an undersized output selection with a missing column in the input range.

COLUMN reports a position. The documented COLUMNS function reports a range width; ROW instead reports vertical positions. This conceptual difference is easy to miss when building a summary table.

According to SoftMaker’s separate ADDRESS help, ADDRESS(Row, Column) creates a cell-address text string from numeric coordinates. Consider:

=ADDRESS(ROW(B5),COLUMN(B5))

Expected result: the text $B$5. The ROW part gives 5, the COLUMN part gives 2, and ADDRESS(5,2) constructs an absolute reference string by default. This is a calculation inferred from individually documented functions, not a native observed result or a separately published combined example. If you need a cell value, the output of ADDRESS by itself is not that value; it remains an address text label. Formula separators for such combinations are locale-sensitive.

• The result is 4 instead of D: COLUMN returns the numeric index, not the alphabetic column letter. If you want printable address text, use a different function such as ADDRESS.
• Copying changes the number: COLUMN() reflects the formula cell’s current location. If you pass a relative reference, copying can also change that reference. Anchor it ($D$2) when you want a fixed source coordinate.
• Horizontal values are missing: For COLUMN(D2:F4), select a three-cell horizontal result area and use the documented PlanMaker array-formula procedure; do not expect a vertical output or an automatic spill on an untested version.
• Unexpected #N/A in a result range: The 2026 array guide documents this when your selected array output is larger than the returned array; reduce the result area and confirm the array formula again.
• Formula contains quotes around a cell address: "D2" is text, not the documented reference argument. No specific error outcome is asserted without native testing.
• An invalid or deleted reference causes an error: The inspected COLUMN help does not identify precise invalid-reference error codes, so this guide intentionally avoids asserting #REF!, #VALUE! or coercion rules without testing.
• A count is required rather than a position: Use COLUMNS to count columns inside a range; COLUMN gives coordinate numbers.

The 2024 and 2026/NX PlanMaker English references have matching signatures, optional-argument definitions and horizontal-array examples. 2021 parity was not verified: the proposed 2021 online page was inaccessible through the available research channel. Individual desktop/mobile editions were not tested; the 2026 vendor’s separate array instructions describe a desktop keyboard shortcut and a mobile command option.

Microsoft’s Excel COLUMN documentation agrees on the core COLUMN([reference]) syntax and horizontal-array concept. It explicitly distinguishes modern Microsoft 365 dynamic-array entry (typically Enter in the top-left result cell) from legacy array entry using an output selection plus Ctrl+Shift+Enter. Do not assume modern Excel’s automatic array expansion works in PlanMaker: this guide follows SoftMaker’s own documented array-entry method and makes no untested round-trip guarantees. Excel may also have specific behavior for a multi-cell range entered outside array mode that is not established by the inspected PlanMaker page.

• PlanMaker 2026 — COLUMN: complete syntax, optional argument, example D2 = 4 and horizontal-array example D2:F4.
• PlanMaker 2024 — COLUMN: documented signature and examples agree with 2026.
• PlanMaker 2026 — Working with arrays: array confirmation, output range sizing and Android/iOS alternative.
• PlanMaker 2026 — COLUMNS: documents count of columns across a reference range.
• PlanMaker 2026 — ADDRESS: builds a text address from row and column numbers.
• Microsoft Excel — COLUMN: compatibility scope and version-dependent array entry.