CHOOSECOLS in WPS Spreadsheet: Select Specific Columns Without Copying the Whole Table

=CHOOSECOLS(array,column_number1,column_number2,...)

The source dialog accepts an array followed by column positions. This guide uses positive whole-number positions within the source width, in ascending order, matching the demonstrated selection pattern. It does not rely on negative indexing, duplicate selections or reordered positions.

Enter this original fixture in A1:D4; the first row contains actual header cells:

In a separate blank area, use =CHOOSECOLS(A1:D4,1,3,4). Starting at F1, the independently expected 4-by-3 result is:

Read each source row and copy positions 1, 3 and 4 into the expected result. Four input rows remain four output rows; the second source column is omitted. This checks values and shape without claiming a fresh WPS execution.

Use =CHOOSECOLS(B1:D4,1,3) in J1. Here position 1 is worksheet column B, and position 3 is D. Expected J1:K4 is Bin, Price / East, 2.5 / West, 4 / East, 0.2, with slashes separating rows. It is a 4-by-2 report. A common mistake is to use 2,4 because B and D are the second and fourth worksheet columns; the chosen source has only three columns.

To leave the header out, use =CHOOSECOLS(A2:D4,1,3,4), changing the original formula’s input to A2:D4. The selection still refers to columns 1, 3 and 4, but the result now contains three rows and begins Pen, 12, 2.5. Header handling is entirely determined by the referenced range.

At 32.876–37.544 seconds, the official video shows =CHOOSECOLS(A1:E11,1,3,4) and an 11-by-3 result containing the serial number, quantity and unit price. Its first data row is 1, 366, 3.8. The source price is displayed as 3.80, so do not treat the formula as a way to reproduce source cell formatting. Our smaller table is an original teaching fixture, not a transcription of every vendor row.

• Check the left edge of array before counting positions. A shifted reference changes what position 1 means.
• Confirm that the output height includes the header when the input does.
• Format result prices separately if two decimal places matter to the report.
• Start with a clear, separate output rectangle. The historical demonstration expands the result into neighboring cells; this does not establish every current collision or spill-error rule.
• Negative, zero, duplicate, out-of-range and fractional selectors, array-valued selectors, and error propagation are not verified here. Do not infer exact Excel behavior or error codes.

Use COLUMNS to check the width of the source rectangle. For selecting positions vertically, see CHOOSEROWS.

The official WPS CHOOSECOLS lesson and its linked video show a Chinese-language WPS spreadsheet interface with a WPS AI label. The actual demonstration was reviewed on October 19, 2026. No numeric build, exact edition, operating system, license or release-date label was verified. This is genuine historical product evidence, not an introduction-version claim or proof of support in every current desktop, web or mobile edition.

The video enters a formula at an output cell and shows an array result occupying neighboring cells. Confirm function recognition and the array-entry workflow in your intended installation before using these examples in a shared workbook. This guide does not import Excel’s complete spill, default-argument or error contract.

• Official WPS CHOOSECOLS lesson
• Official lesson video

The cited timestamps refer to that vendor video. Vendor frames were inspected as source evidence; no vendor frame is embedded here or represented as a screenshot from our own testing. Original example outputs were independently reasoned and checked as array transformations, not executed in an installed WPS build. Unresolved behavior is excluded from the asserted recipe.