= Write My Formula

Excel CHOOSECOLS and CHOOSEROWS repair

Fix an Excel CHOOSECOLS or CHOOSEROWS formula that is not working.

CHOOSECOLS and CHOOSEROWS can break when a position is 0 or outside the selected array, the workbook opens in an unsupported Excel version, the spill range is blocked, a table column name is used where a number belongs, or the FILTER, INDEX, or SORT feeding the formula already returns an error. Paste the formula exactly as it appears in the cell.

Request

Formula request

2 guest tries left
Mode
Spreadsheet
Upgrade $9

Purpose-built inputs

A focused workflow for everyday spreadsheet work.

Structured formula builder

Task, table context, target range, and function hint keep the request specific.

Write / Explain / Fix modes

Generate a new formula, translate a pasted one, or diagnose common syntax issues.

Excel and Sheets toggle

Compatibility notes call out modern functions and platform-specific behavior.

Formula-bar output

The result is formatted for scanning and placed next to a copy button.

Common formulas

Pick the formula you came for.

Excel formula help

Get help writing, explaining, or fixing one Excel formula with range notes and checks before you paste.

AI Excel formula generator

Generate an Excel formula from plain English with range notes, an explanation, and checks before you paste.

Formula Bot alternative

Use a focused formula workbench when you need a formula, explanation, or fix instead of a full spreadsheet-analysis suite.

SheetSolver AI alternative

Compare a narrow formula helper for writing, explaining, and fixing formulas against broader spreadsheet AI suites.

GPTExcel alternative

Use a focused formula workbench when the job is one formula, explanation, or repair.

ExcelBot alternative

Use a focused formula helper when you need one formula, explanation, or repair rather than VBA or data analysis.

Ajelix alternative

Use a focused formula helper when you need one formula, explanation, or repair rather than a full AI workspace.

SheetAI alternative

Use a focused formula helper when you need one formula, explanation, or repair rather than a broader spreadsheet AI workflow.

Numerous.ai alternative

Use a focused formula helper when you need one formula, explanation, or repair rather than in-spreadsheet AI automation.

Formulr alternative

Use a focused formula helper when you want two tries before choosing a broader formula app or extension.

Percentage formulas

Build percent of total, percent change, discount, markup, tax, tip, and completion-rate formulas.

Fix my Excel formula

Paste a broken formula and get a corrected version with checks for errors, text cells, ranges, and fallbacks.

Excel formulas not working

Fix formulas that stop calculating after imports, copied ranges, locale settings, or text-number mismatches.

Excel formula parse error

Fix formulas rejected by Excel because of separators, quotes, missing equals signs, parentheses, or copied syntax.

Google Sheets #REF! error

Fix formulas broken by deleted tabs, invalid ranges, moved references, blocked array output, or IMPORTRANGE source issues.

Google Sheets #VALUE! error

Fix formulas blocked by imported text numbers, unparseable VALUE inputs, date text, range shapes, or wrong argument types.

Google Sheets #N/A error

Fix formulas with missing lookup matches, no-match FILTER results, text-number mismatches, hidden spaces, or fallback mistakes.

Google Sheets #DIV/0! error

Fix formulas blocked by zero or blank denominators, ratio logic, averages, percentages, and IFERROR tradeoffs.

Google Sheets #NAME? error

Fix formulas with unknown range names, misspelled functions, deleted named ranges, named functions, or unquoted text.

Excel formula wrong result

Fix formulas that calculate the wrong value because of references, parentheses, stored types, or lookup settings.

Formula returns 0 or blank

Fix formulas that return 0, blank, or an empty string because of lookup return cells, IF logic, or hidden zero settings.

Excel date formula not working

Fix Excel date formulas with DATEVALUE #VALUE!, text dates, locale mismatches, serial numbers, DATEDIF, or criteria issues.

Excel SUMIFS not working

Fix SUMIFS formulas that return 0, #VALUE!, or wrong totals because of criteria, ranges, dates, or argument order.

Excel SUMPRODUCT not working

Fix SUMPRODUCT formulas that return #VALUE!, 0, or wrong totals because of array sizes, text numbers, hidden spaces, errors, or full-column references.

Excel COUNTIFS not working

Fix COUNTIFS formulas that return 0, #VALUE!, or wrong counts because of criteria, range sizes, dates, or closed workbooks.

Excel TEXTJOIN not working

Fix TEXTJOIN formulas with #VALUE!, #NAME?, extra delimiters, blank joins, IF or FILTER array issues, line breaks, or version support problems.

Excel TEXTSPLIT not working

Fix TEXTSPLIT formulas with #SPILL!, #N/A padding, wrong delimiters, row-versus-column splits, or version support problems.

Excel INDIRECT not working

Fix INDIRECT formulas with #REF!, dynamic sheet names, dependent dropdowns, named ranges, or external workbook limits.

Excel #VALUE! error

Repair formulas blocked by text values, hidden spaces, wrong argument types, dates, or subtraction syntax.

Excel #NAME? error

Fix formulas with misspelled functions, undefined names, missing quotes, or unsupported functions.

Excel #DIV/0! error

Fix formulas blocked by zero or blank denominators, ratio logic, averages, and IFERROR tradeoffs.

Excel #NULL! error

Fix formulas blocked by accidental range intersections, missing commas, missing colons, or non-overlapping cell ranges.

Excel #SPILL! error

Fix dynamic array formulas blocked by spill ranges, tables, merged cells, whole-column references, or changing array sizes.

Excel #CALC! error

Fix dynamic array and FILTER formulas blocked by empty results, nested arrays, range references, or unsupported calculations.

Excel OFFSET function not working

Fix OFFSET formulas with #REF!, #VALUE!, wrong ranges, dynamic named range problems, text references, or volatile recalculation issues.

Excel UNIQUE not working

Fix UNIQUE formulas that keep apparent duplicates, return unexpected rows, show #SPILL!, or confuse by_col and exactly_once settings.

Excel #NUM! error

Fix formulas blocked by invalid numeric values, formatted constants, non-converging IRR or RATE inputs, or numbers outside Excel limits.

Excel circular reference

Fix formulas that point back at their own result cell or need deliberate iterative-calculation checks.

Excel #REF! error

Repair formulas broken by deleted rows, moved cells, invalid references, or shifted lookup ranges.

Google Sheets circular dependency

Fix circular dependency errors caused by self-referencing cells, self-including ranges, helper-cell loops, or iterative-calculation settings.

Google Sheets SUMIFS not working

Fix SUMIFS formulas that return 0, #VALUE!, or wrong totals because of range sizes, criteria, dates, text values, or argument order.

Google Sheets COUNTIFS not working

Fix COUNTIFS formulas that return 0, #VALUE!, wrong counts, or miss rows because of range sizes, dates, stored text, hidden spaces, or separators.

Google Sheets #NUM! error

Fix formulas blocked by invalid numeric inputs, impossible math, oversized results, XIRR or RATE failures, and out-of-range row choices.

Google Sheets SORT not working

Fix SORT formulas that return the wrong order, sort headers as data, separate rows, or misread dates and numbers stored as text.

Google Sheets UNIQUE not working

Fix UNIQUE formulas that keep duplicates, remove the wrong rows, return unexpected columns, or confuse by_column and exactly_once settings.

Google Sheets IMPORTXML not working

Fix IMPORTXML formulas with #N/A, Imported content is empty, Could not fetch URL, XPath mistakes, oversized results, or blocked page content.

Google Sheets MATCH not working

Fix MATCH formulas with #N/A, wrong positions, omitted search_type defaults, range-shape mistakes, or sorted-range assumptions.

VLOOKUP #N/A error

Fix lookup formulas that return #N/A because of exact-match settings, text-number mismatches, or range setup.

XLOOKUP #N/A error

Fix XLOOKUP formulas with missing matches, mismatched stored types, lookup-array issues, or fallback decisions.

Excel MATCH not working

Fix MATCH formulas with #N/A, wrong positions, omitted match_type defaults, sort-order issues, or text-number mismatches.

Excel XMATCH not working

Fix XMATCH formulas with #N/A, #VALUE!, wrong positions, wildcard mode, binary search sorting, or first-versus-last match issues.

Excel SORT not working

Fix SORT formulas with #SPILL!, wrong sort columns, header-row mistakes, row separation, text-stored dates or numbers, and version support issues.

Excel VSTACK or HSTACK not working

Fix stacked arrays with #N/A padding, #SPILL! blockers, #NAME? version issues, mismatched array sizes, or the wrong combine direction.

Excel TAKE and DROP repair

Fix TAKE and DROP formulas with #CALC!, #NUM!, #NAME?, #SPILL!, wrong rows or columns, and nested-array errors.

Date formulas

Create due dates, workday counts, month-end dates, date differences, and overdue checks.

FILTER formulas

Return matching rows for status, region, date, text, and threshold conditions.

Text formulas

Split, extract, join, trim, clean, and replace text from messy imported cells.

Data validation formulas

Block bad IDs, duplicate values, missing fields, and invalid entries with custom TRUE/FALSE rules.

XLOOKUP formulas

Return matching values with separate lookup and return ranges.

INDEX MATCH formulas

Build flexible lookup formulas for left lookups, two-way lookups, and older Excel files.

SUMIFS formulas

Total rows that match status, date, category, customer, or region rules.

Use case

Excel CHOOSECOLS and CHOOSEROWS repair for spreadsheet work.

Help Excel users repair one CHOOSECOLS or CHOOSEROWS formula where the visible problem is usually #VALUE! from zero or out-of-range positions, #NAME? from unsupported Excel versions, #SPILL! from blocked output cells, wrong rows or columns from relative position counting, or an upstream dynamic-array error.

What this page gives you

  • A focused repair pass for one CHOOSECOLS or CHOOSEROWS formula returning #VALUE!, #NAME?, #SPILL!, or the wrong selected rows or columns.
  • Checks for zero and out-of-range positions, array-relative counting, blocked spill output, supported Excel versions, and nested dynamic-array errors.
  • A revised selection formula you can test on a small source array before replacing a report formula.

When to use it

Use this page when CHOOSECOLS or CHOOSEROWS is close but not reliable: it returns #VALUE!, is not recognized, spills into blocked cells, chooses the wrong rows or columns, or fails after wrapping FILTER, INDEX, SORT, TAKE, or DROP. It is strongest when you can paste the full nested formula and the source array shape.

Do not use table column names, sheet letters, or absolute row numbers where CHOOSECOLS and CHOOSEROWS expect numeric positions inside the returned array. First confirm the array produced by the first argument, then count from that array.

Worked example

A filtered report should return only the customer, status, and amount columns from a six-column source after keeping open rows.

=CHOOSECOLS(FILTER(A2:F500,C2:C500="Open"),1,3,6)

FILTER creates the reduced source array first. CHOOSECOLS then returns columns 1, 3, and 6 relative to that filtered array. If column 6 no longer exists after the nested step, Excel returns #VALUE!.

Check before you paste

  • Use numeric positions such as 1, 3, or -1; table column names and structured references do not replace col_num or row_num arguments.
  • Check whether any requested position is 0 or outside the array returned by the first argument.
  • Count positions from the array argument, not from the worksheet column letters or row numbers.
  • Clear the intended spill range before rewriting a formula that is otherwise valid.
  • Check the nested FILTER, INDEX, SORT, TAKE, or DROP result before treating CHOOSECOLS or CHOOSEROWS as the root cause.
  • Confirm the workbook is being opened in Microsoft 365, Excel for the web, or Excel 2024 when the function appears as #NAME? or _xlfn.

Upgrade when the work piles up

Keep going when the sheet gets complicated.

Try twice as a guest. Free accounts get 3 runs per week plus a monthly product email. Upgrade when formula work becomes a recurring part of the week.

Founding access

$9

500 formula runs per month in this browser, early access pricing, and account access as it ships. Stripe redirects you back after payment.

Upgrade with Stripe