You have a thousand product descriptions that cannot go over 160 characters to be published on a marketplace. Opening them one by one to see which runs over is out of the question.
How to use Count Characters Formula step by step
1. Choose what to count
Every character, without spaces, how often a letter appears, words, characters of a range, a limit warning or cleaning stray spaces.
2. Give the cell
Type the text reference and, depending on the option, the letter to count or the character limit with the two warning messages.
3. Copy and drag
Paste the formula beside your texts and drag it down. The result updates by itself when you edit the text.
The Step Count: Traditional Friction vs. KorexTools
Checking the length of a thousand texts by eye (4 steps)
- Open each cell.
- Count the characters with an outside counter.
- Note which ones run over.
- Trim and count again.
With the KorexTools “Count Characters Formula” builder (3 steps)
- You choose what to count or which limit to apply.
- You give the text cell.
- You copy the formula and filter the warnings.
LEN counts everything, and the hard part is counting only what matters
LEN returns the number of characters in a cell, and that includes spaces, even the invisible ones at the end. To count without spaces you first remove every space with SUBSTITUTE and then measure the result. To count how often a letter appears you compare the length of the text with the length of the same text without that letter: the difference is the number of appearances.
Words are counted with a similar trick: you measure the spaces between them and add one, after cleaning double spaces with TRIM. That same function strips the leading and trailing extras, the cause of many failures when comparing or looking up. For a limit, such as an ad’s, IF warns as soon as the text goes over it.
Which formula to use
- •Whole text: LEN.
- •A specific letter: LEN minus LEN without that letter.
- •A message limit: IF with LEN and the maximum allowed.
The text “Hola mundo” in A2
| What you count | Formula | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Characters | =LEN(A2) | 10 |
| Without spaces | =LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2," ","")) | 9 |
| Times the letter o appears | =LEN(A2)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"o","")) | 2 |
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- ⚠️Counting with trailing spaces without knowing they were there.
- ⚠️Taking a portal’s limit without checking whether it counts line breaks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does LEN give me more than I can see?
Because there are spaces at the end or the start that you cannot see. Use the strip-stray-spaces option and count again.
Does it count upper and lower case separately?
The normal option does. If you want to merge both, choose the variant that ignores case.
Does it work for the limit of an SMS or an ad?
Yes, with the limit-warning option. You set the maximum and the two messages, and the cell tells you whether the text fits or runs over.
What I would do if I were in your shoes
«Always measure with the same ruler as the destination: one extra character can leave your text out.» — DataKorex Engineering Team.