COLUMNS in SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026: Count Columns in a Range

COLUMNS is helpful when checking whether a form has the expected number of data fields, counting months laid out across a report, determining the capacity of a rectangular entry area, or creating a reliable check while restructuring a fixed worksheet layout. It can work with a blank reference: the cell positions still exist even without data.

For example, a budget forecasts four future months in C3:F9. The formula =COLUMNS(C3:F9) gives 4, regardless of how many of the budget cells have been entered. It cannot tell you whether all four month headers are filled; that requires a separate data-quality check.

=COLUMNS(Range)

• Range (required): a cell reference or contiguous rectangular range such as B3:E8. The argument is a reference to cell positions, not the text of a label or a comma-separated list of values.
• Result: the number of worksheet columns intersected by that range. For a rectangle, subtract the leftmost column index from the rightmost index and add 1. A single cell spans exactly one column.
• Default: there is no optional argument and no omitted-reference default in the documented COLUMNS(Range) syntax. =COLUMNS() is not a supported documented example.
• Argument order and locale: there is a single required argument, so argument order and comma/semicolon separators are irrelevant inside COLUMNS. The English documentation uses A1-style cell references such as A1:D5 and colon range notation; localized function spelling, application-specific reference mode or sheet-name quoting were not tested.

The 2026 manual names related functions ROWS, COLUMN and AREAS. COLUMNS counts columns; COLUMN (no final S) returns a column’s index number instead. See the comparison below.

Reproduce the following in A1:D4 of a new sheet:

In F2, enter:

=COLUMNS(A1:D4)

Expected result: 4. COLUMNS counts the number of fields across the report, not the three data records, and not the number of nonblank cells. If a new field is added in column E and your formula’s explicit range is edited to A1:E4, expected result: 5. Simply typing more data into the old A1:D4 area does not increase its width.

This approach helps check the design of a standardized export. It is not itself a validation that every record has all four fields filled.

Enter each formula into any empty result cell. No data are needed in the referenced input cells.

Only the first output is vendor-published. The others were independently derived from Excel-style A1 reference coordinates using the range-counting rule in the PlanMaker manual.

Suppose your forecast has one label field in column B and three monthly values in C:E, all within B2:E10. The total number of fields is:

=COLUMNS(B2:E10)

Expected: 4. To count monthly value columns when precisely one label field is included, use:

=COLUMNS(B2:E10)-1

Expected: 3. The -1 is a deliberate worksheet-design assumption. It will be wrong if there are two label columns or if the range begins at C rather than B. Changing the selected width requires rechecking the assumption.

If the company allocates a blank C3:F8 rectangle to enter a six-week projection for four departments, the total number of cell positions is:

=ROWS(C3:F8)*COLUMNS(C3:F8)

Expected result: 24 (6 worksheet rows × 4 worksheet columns). Both functions are documented in SoftMaker’s 2026 function reference. This is a capacity calculation, not a filled-value count; a blank grid still contains 24 possible positions.

COLUMN(D7) returns a position (D is column 4). COLUMNS(D7) returns 1 (one column in the reference). Unlike COLUMN, COLUMNS requires its Range argument.

• One instead of the expected several: Did you select one cell or use COLUMNS(C2:C50)? Multiple rows do not increase the column count. Widen the range (e.g. C2:F50) if that is the intended dimension.
• Wrong number after editing a report: The result follows the range written in the formula, not necessarily the displayed table to its right. For a fixed four-column schema, use and audit $A$1:$D$50 or equivalent anchored reference.
• Blank columns included: Empty columns inside B:E still contribute to a width of four. COLUMNS does not count only filled fields; check the header values using a content-aware function if you need that assurance.
• Confusing COLUMN with COLUMNS: COLUMN(F10) returns 6, while COLUMNS(F10) returns 1. Ensure the correct name appears in the formula bar.
• Omitting Range / invalid reference: The syntax requires one range; =COLUMNS() does not follow the reference. Quoted text such as "B2:E10" is not an ordinary cell-range token. The inspected official entry does not identify a reliable error code for these malformed uses, so test in PlanMaker rather than assert a particular #VALUE! result.
• Deleted references and unions: Exact error codes or treatment of noncontiguous union references are not specified by the short PlanMaker manual entry. Repair the formula’s reference and verify it in the target application and file format.
• Excel array constants: Microsoft documents support for array values in Excel’s COLUMNS. The inspected PlanMaker description is limited to a cell range; do not assume that every Excel array-constant form is accepted in PlanMaker without testing.

Official English manuals document COLUMNS(Range) in PlanMaker 2026/NX and PlanMaker 2024 (printed pages 561–562). Both describe returning the number of columns and give COLUMNS(A1:D5) → 4. This confirms those manuals document the function; it does not establish behavior in every platform edition or older 2021 release. No Windows, macOS, Linux, Android or iOS execution was conducted, and no workbook round-trip was performed.

The Microsoft Excel COLUMNS documentation uses COLUMNS(array), also returns the number of columns, and includes a separate array-constant example. For normal cell-range references, the documented intent is the same. Excel’s broader array syntax should not be copied into PlanMaker without validating support, and neither locale-specific translation nor exact errors were tested.

• SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026/NX, official English manual, COLUMNS. Required Range input, column-width description, official A1:D5 example. Accessed 2026-10-12 UTC.
• SoftMaker PlanMaker 2024, official English manual, COLUMNS, printed pages 561–562. Same syntax and purpose. Accessed 2026-10-12 UTC.
• SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026/NX, official English manual, ROWS. Row-count companion used in the 24-cell example. Accessed 2026-10-12 UTC.
• Microsoft Excel, COLUMNS function. Excel array-or-range argument and cross-program differences. Accessed 2026-10-12 UTC.

Verification status: Official vendor documentation reviewed; cell-coordinate results independently checked where indicated. Not executed in PlanMaker or Excel. No screenshots or mock application images.