PlanMaker PERMUT: Ordered Selections and Truncation Controls

The PlanMaker 2026 reference, 2024 reference and 2021 reference document this function. Original introduction and last-working-version endpoints remain unverified; a manual family is not a test of every build or edition.

References were retrieved on October 15, 2026. No native PlanMaker execution was performed. Examples below are independently calculated expectations, not application screenshots or native results. FreeOffice/mobile edition coverage and file transfers are not certified. English formulas use commas; verify separators and names in your installation.

=PERMUT(n, k)

n is the total number of distinct items; k is the number selected into ordered positions. The PlanMaker manual requires n > k > 0. It also states that fractional parts of n and k are truncated. These examples start with positive values whose truncated integers still satisfy that strict domain.

Do not assume k=0 or k=n is supported merely because the mathematical formula can be defined there or another spreadsheet accepts it. The checked PlanMaker text does not establish those endpoint results or exact native errors.

PERMUT counts selections without repetition, where order matters. Selecting A then B differs from selecting B then A. For integer inputs in the documented range, the mathematical count is n×(n−1)×…×(n−k+1), equivalently n!/(n−k)!.

Create PermutationControls with Population in A1, Positions in B1 and Ordered_count in C1. Enter the numeric inputs below and fill C2 =PERMUT(A2,B2) through C7.

Row 6 reproduces the official race-podium example: 10 possible winners, then 9 remaining second-place finishers, then 8 remaining third-place finishers, giving 720 ordered podiums. No participant can occupy two positions in a single podium.

In a copy change A6 from 10 to 11, leaving B6 at 3. Expected C6 becomes 990, from 11×10×9. All other rows remain unchanged. This is a count, not a probability that any one outcome occurs.

For five labeled candidates A,B,C,D,E and two distinct roles, there are 20 assignments. The unordered two-person teams number 10, because each team has two possible role assignments. PERMUT answers the role-assignment question, not the team-selection question.

For five candidates and three roles, there are 60 assignments. Ten unordered three-person groups each admit six orderings, giving the same count. When roles are interchangeable, use the appropriate combination model rather than dividing by an arbitrary number.

For a two-character code using five symbols with repetition allowed, there are 25 possibilities, calculated as =5^2. PERMUT(5,2) gives 20 because its second position has only four available choices.

This distinction matters for codes, seating and task assignments. Decide whether reuse is allowed before choosing the function. The fact that a symbol set has five members does not mean every two-position problem has the same counting model.

=PERMUT(10.9,3.8) has mathematical expectation 720 under the documented truncation to 10 and 3. =PERMUT(10.1,2.9) similarly becomes PERMUT(10,2), giving 90. These are truncation checks, not recommendations to enter fractional people or positions in a model.

Both truncations remain inside n>k>0. Validation order for inputs whose truncated k becomes zero, whose values are negative, or whose truncation makes n and k equal is not established. Keep original inputs visible when cleaning data so that truncation does not hide an accidental decimal entry.

With n=8, counts for k=1,2,3,4 are 8,56,336,1680. Each additional position multiplies the previous count by the number of remaining items: 7, then 6, then 5. Enter k=1,2,3,4 in E2:E5 and fill F2 =PERMUT(8,E2) down.

For rows 3:5, G3 =F3/F2 filled down has expected ratios 7,6,5. This reveals both the ordered-selection rule and an indexing error if the wrong previous row is used.

The manual does not specify a full error table for text, blanks, arrays, overflow or unsupported endpoints. No native error token or large-integer precision threshold is invented here. Small integer examples can be counted exactly; that does not guarantee every enormous result remains exactly represented in a spreadsheet.

When a count is unexpected, check whether positions are ordered, whether repetition is allowed, and whether fractional inputs were silently truncated. Then record the exact PlanMaker build and reproduce the finite controls before extending the model.