PlanMaker RANK: Tie Gaps, Logical Direction and Comparison Groups
Use the earlier RANK function in PlanMaker with complete numeric examples, descending and ascending positions, tie gaps and changed-group controls.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
RANK gives a number’s position within a numeric comparison group. With descending order, the largest value ranks first. Equal values receive the same best position, and later positions have gaps.
PlanMaker still documents this earlier function name. Its current manual says RANK.EQ returns the same result; RANK.AVG instead assigns average positions to ties.
Availability and version history
- Introduced: Documented by the PlanMaker 2010 manual; the original introduction release and date are not established.
- Availability: Documented in PlanMaker 2026. This checked version is not a final supported-version endpoint.
- Scope: Current reference belongs to the PlanMaker 2026/NX manual family. FreeOffice and individual mobile-build availability are not established here.
- Checked: October 14, 2026, against the official RANK reference and historical manual. Examples were independently calculated; no native PlanMaker test was performed.
Syntax and direction
RANK(Number, Range [, Ascending])
Number is the numeric value whose position is required, and Range is the numeric comparison group. The optional Ascending argument is logical: FALSE or omitted means highest-first; TRUE means lowest-first. Use those documented logical values instead of assuming that arbitrary nonzero numbers are an interchangeable direction setting.
The official RANK reference expressly gives #N/A when Number does not occur in Range. It does not interpolate a position for an absent measurement. The examples use English comma separators; adapt punctuation to your installation, and omit syntax-description brackets.
Reproduce the vendor’s tied-value example
Create RankRegister, with space through column H and row eleven. Put Value in A1 and enter 3,2,7,5,9,7 in A2:A7. These are the current manual’s six values, relocated down one row to leave a heading.
In C2 enter =RANK(A2,$A$2:$A$7,FALSE) and fill through C7. In D2 enter =RANK(A2,$A$2:$A$7,TRUE) and fill through D7.
| Row | A: Value | Expected C: Descending | Expected D: Ascending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 4 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 6 | 9 | 1 | 6 |
| 7 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
The descending sorted sequence is 9,7,7,5,3,2. The two sevens occupy positions two and three, so both receive two. The five follows at position four. This is competition ranking, not dense ranking or a unique row identifier.
Use H2:H7 for direct controls:
| Cell | Formula | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| H2 | =RANK(9,A2:A7) |
1 |
| H3 | =RANK(9,A2:A7,TRUE) |
6 |
| H4 | =RANK(5,A2:A7) |
4 |
| H5 | =RANK(7,A2:A7) |
2 |
| H6 | =RANK(7,A2:A7,FALSE) |
2 |
| H7 | =RANK(8,A2:A7) |
#N/A, documented absent-value error |
H2:H5 reproduce the manual’s current examples. H5 and H6 show the omitted direction’s documented descending default.
Reconstruct a rank by counting better observations
In E2 enter =1+COUNTIF($A$2:$A$7,">"&A2) and fill through E7. The expected sequence 5,6,2,4,1,2 agrees with C. In F2 use =1+COUNTIF($A$2:$A$7,"<"&A2) and fill to F7 for 2,1,4,3,6,4, agreeing with D.
The COUNTIF reference documents joining a comparison operator to a cell value with &. This reconstruction is for values already in the group. Unlike RANK, simply counting values above an absent eight and adding one would produce two; it would not reproduce RANK’s documented #N/A.
Advanced: a changed comparison group changes the meaning
Copy RankRegister to ExpandedRegister and add numeric 12 in A8. Existing formulas still refer to A2:A7 and therefore retain their original ranks until you change their comparison range.
On the copy, replace C2 with =RANK(A2,$A$2:$A$8,FALSE) and fill through C8. Replace D2 with =RANK(A2,$A$2:$A$8,TRUE) and fill through D8. Expect descending 6,7,3,5,2,3,1 and ascending 2,1,4,3,6,4,7. Ignore or remove the copy’s old E:H controls unless you deliberately update their ranges too.
Adding a larger observation shifts every original descending position down by one, while leaving their ascending positions unchanged. It does not change the original measurements. Always identify which population the rank compares, especially when reporting periods or eligibility rules change.
History and practical limits
The PlanMaker 2010 manual, page 578 already documents RANK, its logical direction and tie gaps. Its earlier numeric example uses 4,2,6,5,9: highest-first rank of nine is one, highest-first rank of two is five, and lowest-first rank of two is one. That is evidence of documentation by 2010, not the first introduction release.
The current reference supplements RANK with newer names; it does not state that RANK has been retired. The nearby Excel 2010 compatibility remark concerns Excel, not a PlanMaker launch date.
The short entry does not fully specify imported numeric text, logical cells, error cells or all-empty ranges. Keep the fixture numeric, the comparison range fixed when filling, and record identifiers separate from ranks. LARGE and SMALL answer the inverse-style question of which value occupies a requested position.