REPT turns one string into a longer string by concatenating copies of it. Common spreadsheet uses include producing a divider of a particular length, drawing a character-based progress bar, or padding a label for display. It returns text in the formula cell; it does not change the source cell or insert additional rows. REPT is not a global find-and-replace tool: for substitutions within existing content, see the separate SUBSTITUTE and REPLACE functions.

=REPT(Text, n)

Text (required): the string to repeat, given as a quoted literal such as "ID-" or by referring to a text cell such as A2. The manual labels the first argument Text.

n (required): the requested number of repetitions. The 2021, 2024 and 2026 English manuals describe n as an integer. When it contains fractional digits, PlanMaker discards the fractional part: for instance, a count of 2.9 is treated as 2 for this documented operation. The manuals do not show a default for either argument. Use nonnegative whole-number counts for dependable, reviewable examples. The precise error handling for negative counts, text or errors as n remains unverified in this guide.

The English manuals print commas as argument separators. An installed application’s regional settings can affect how numeric decimals and list separators are entered, so if the editor rejects =REPT("X",2.9), inspect the local formula syntax rather than mechanically copying punctuation. The fraction example is written in the English manual’s number notation. The function was documented in PlanMaker 2021, 2024 and 2026; these references do not identify the function’s first supported release or prove identical behavior on every edition and platform.

Primary evidence for syntax and truncation

• SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026 and NX English PDF manual, printed page 779, section “REPT (repeat text string)”: the precise two-argument syntax, integer count/truncation, and official TextTextText example. Open the 2026 manual, checked 2026-10-11.
• PlanMaker 2024 English PDF manual, printed page 766: the same syntax and rule. Open the 2024 manual, checked 2026-10-11.
• PlanMaker 2021 English PDF manual, printed page 733: repetition and digits after the decimal point ignored. Open the 2021 manual, checked 2026-10-11.

Create a new worksheet. Put Text in A1, Repeats in B1, and Formula/result in C1. Type each input from columns A and B into the row shown; then enter the C formula. Column C will display the result. The result column below is expected from the published function semantics and separately computed text repetition, not native PlanMaker output.

Follow the first row: PlanMaker takes the text AB from A2, reads the count 3 from B2, then places three adjacent copies into C2. Nothing in A2 or B2 is changed. For row 4, the official truncation rule reduces 2.9 to two repetitions, yielding HiHi by independent calculation. The official vendor example is REPT("Text",3) → TextTextText.

Confirm the number of characters

A fixed-width text divider

Enter =REPT("-",12) in an empty cell. Independently calculated expected result:

------------

This creates twelve hyphens without manually counting keystrokes. Because the result is text, the appearance of the divider also depends on the chosen cell font. A proportional font may make it appear uneven; use the actual character count to verify its length.

A proportional mini-bar without a chart

In D1 enter Completed units and in E1 enter Expected bar. Put 3 in D2, 5 in D3, and 2 in D4. In E2 enter =REPT("|",D2) and fill it down. Expected strings are |||, ||||| and ||. These are character bars, not precise charts: glyph width and font choice affect their appearance, and the formula does not automatically scale a number into a percentage. Use a bounded, validated count rather than arbitrarily repeating an unbounded input.

A separator with a computed length

With A2 containing AB, =REPT("_",LEN(A2)+2) is expected to produce ____ (four underscores). This example combines REPT with the separately documented LEN function and basic addition. Verify the actual result in the target PlanMaker version before treating the example as a native test.

Why repeating a literal does not replace text

=REPT("AB",2) builds ABAB. It does not transform an existing AB substring within another identifier. To change specific characters in an existing code, consult SoftMaker’s 2026 function catalogue for SUBSTITUTE and REPLACE instead.

• Wrong argument order: Text comes first, n second. =REPT(3,"AB") does not mean “repeat AB three times” in the official syntax.
• Unexpected number of repetitions: decimal digits in n are truncated, not rounded. Try an unambiguous integer such as 3 while troubleshooting.
• A formula is shown literally instead of a result: make sure there is a leading =, balanced parentheses and double quotes around literal strings, and that the formula cell is not set up to display text rather than calculations.
• Text appears cut off: check cell width and formatting before treating a visually clipped output as lost data. The formula computes a text string and the worksheet controls its display.
• Large calculated repeats: avoid generating thousands of characters until the target version’s maximum output length and performance are established. The documentation used here does not state a numeric PlanMaker REPT output-length ceiling.
• Imported identifiers: repeat only after verifying unwanted whitespace and hidden characters are not already present; otherwise REPT can multiply those characters as well.

Microsoft’s official Excel REPT reference, checked 2026-10-11, also uses REPT(text,number_times) and truncates noninteger repetition counts. Excel additionally documents an empty-string result when its count is zero and a 32,767-character result limit with #VALUE! for longer strings. Those two Excel-specific statements have not been established for PlanMaker, so they are deliberately not presented as PlanMaker guarantees. Differences in formula separators, language settings, text encoding and workbook export require local verification. No .xlsx or .xls round trip was performed.

Documented manual family: PlanMaker 2021, PlanMaker 2024, and PlanMaker 2026/NX English-language manuals; accessed 2026-10-11. This verifies reference documentation for the syntax and the core truncation behavior, not first-supported release, specific product edition licenses, Android/iOS behavior, all desktop OS variants, or current file-format fidelity.

Validation method: (1) documentation checking against the three vendor manuals; (2) independent Python string repetition and integer-part calculations for the small examples. The displayed results are expected, not screenshot/observed application output. Native PlanMaker executions: zero. Microsoft Excel native executions: zero. Manual site-build and canonical URL checks still required.

• SoftMaker 2026 PlanMaker function catalogue — named REPT entry (checked 2026-10-11).
• Official PlanMaker 2026 manual — REPT printed p. 779 (checked 2026-10-11).
• Official PlanMaker 2024 manual — REPT printed p. 766 (checked 2026-10-11).
• Official PlanMaker 2021 manual — REPT printed p. 733 (checked 2026-10-11).
• Microsoft Excel REPT reference — cross-software contrast only (checked 2026-10-11).

• SoftMaker PlanMaker — function documentation
• SoftMaker’s 2026 function catalogue

Verification status: Official documentation checked; example outcomes were independently reasoned or arithmetically checked where applicable. Not executed in SoftMaker PlanMaker.

• No genuine SoftMaker PlanMaker screenshots are included; this guide does not use mock application images.