PlanMaker TOCOL Function: Flatten a range into one column
Use documented PlanMaker 2026 TOCOL traversal and ignore options to flatten a range into one column.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
Quick answer: TOCOL(A2:C3) reads a 2×3 range row by row and returns one column. For input rows [1,2,3] and [4,5,6], the independent output order is 1;2;3;4;5;6, with shape 6×1.
This guide uses the PlanMaker 2026 reference and independent traversal calculations. No 2026 native array or spill execution is claimed.
Syntax and the two independent choices
=TOCOL(Range [, Ignore] [, ByColumn])
Range supplies the data. Ignore defaults to 0. ByColumn defaults to FALSE, meaning read across the first row, then across the next row. TRUE reads down the first column, then down the next column.
ByColumn controls input traversal, not output orientation. TOCOL always produces a single column under this contract. Use TOROW for the other output orientation.
| Ignore | Documented treatment |
|---|---|
| 0 | Keep all values |
| 1 | Ignore empty cells |
| 2 | Ignore error-valued cells |
| 3 | Ignore empty and error-valued cells |
The help sometimes describes data as “sorted” by row or column. Here that means traversal order; it does not numerically or alphabetically sort the values.
Build a fully numeric comparison
Enter these values in A2:C3:
| Row | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Place the output outside the input rectangle and leave the necessary adjacent cells empty. The documented defaults give TOCOL(A2:C3) in order 1;2;3;4;5;6. Explicit column traversal, =TOCOL(A2:C3,0,TRUE), gives order 1;4;2;5;3;6.
The difference follows directly from coordinates. Row-first visits A2,B2,C2,A3,B3,C3. Column-first visits A2,A3,B2,B3,C2,C3. Changing the traversal does not change any source value or move the source cells.
Reproduce blank-and-error filtering
On a fresh copy of that grid, clear B2 completely and enter =1/0 in B3. B2 is now an actual blank and B3 an actual error. Do not type the visible text “#DIV/0!” as a substitute for an error-valued cell.
=TOCOL(A2:C3,3) ignores both and retains row-first order 1,3,4,6. =TOCOL(A2:C3,3,TRUE) retains column-first order 1,4,3,6. Both have four remaining positions, arranged as a single column.
Those are independent predictions from the documented traversal and filtering rules. The short page does not establish whether a formula returning an empty string is treated exactly like a truly empty cell, what retained blanks display as under Ignore=0, or the exact result if every item is removed. This guide does not invent zero, empty-array or error outputs for those cases.
Practical use: reshape a compact input block
Flattening can prepare a rectangular collection for a one-dimensional report, list or downstream calculation. Choose traversal according to the original meaning of rows and columns. If each source row represents a record, row-first traversal keeps its fields together in order; if each column represents a time series, column-first traversal keeps that column’s values together.
Ignoring blanks or errors compresses the output. A position in the filtered list therefore no longer maps directly to an unfiltered cell offset. If original location or record identity matters, retain those identifiers separately rather than treating the flattened position as a permanent key.
Ignoring an error removes it from the result; it does not fix the calculation that produced it. An audit should count or inspect excluded cells before a clean-looking list is interpreted as complete data.
Dynamic output and compatibility limits
The official reference describes ordinary Enter entry and automatic expansion into adjacent cells, with #SPILL! when needed output cells already contain content. Keep sufficient space clear in the output direction and avoid placing the output over its own input range.
This is a documented 2026 interface contract, not evidence that a 2024 array formula behaves the same way. No untested automatic-spill demonstration, keyboard shortcut or screenshot is supplied here.
The help identifies Excel 2024 compatibility for this name. That statement dates Excel support, not PlanMaker introduction. No complete coercion policy, invalid Ignore selector response, fractional option handling or all-empty result is inferred from another product. Use explicit 0–3 Ignore values and Boolean ByColumn in reproducible examples.
Separate FreeOffice 2024 import observation
On October 18, 2026, an XLSX containing =TOCOL(A2:C3) was imported into FreeOffice PlanMaker 2024 rev F1238.1005, saved as PMDX and reopened. The saved result cache was #NAME?, while the reopened live cell displayed #NULL!. The formula expression remained in PlanMaker-specific storage; the differing error displays belong to distinct stages.
This limited import/save/reopen result did not demonstrate a successful calculation. It is not a direct-entry parser test, proof of absence from every 2024 edition, or evidence about 2026 execution. The mathematical examples above remain explicitly scoped to the documented 2026 contract. No 2024 screenshot is used to illustrate a 2026 result.
Evidence and edition scope
Official PlanMaker 2026 function reference, checked October 18, 2026. This establishes documented support in that manual. The examples above are independent calculations or explicitly bounded documentation-based expectations; no PlanMaker 2026 native execution, screenshot or proprietary implementation inspection is claimed.
The first introduction release is not established by these references. Absence from an older function catalogue alone does not prove runtime absence. Do not assume that installed FreeOffice 2024 implements the documented 2026 contract. Current documentation contains no retirement declaration for this function. Examples use commas; the help also shows semicolon syntax, so use the separators required by your locale.