25 pts.
 MAX of Alpha numeric range of fields
How can I get the MAX value of an alphanumeric range of fields in Excel? i.e. a column with values like S020, S045, S102

Software/Hardware used:
Excel 2010
ASKED: December 31, 2012  5:19 PM
UPDATED: January 2, 2013  1:56 PM

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All Answer Wiki Contributors:  Be the first to answer this question. Michael Tidmarsh   11,410 pts. , KarenKS   25 pts.
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There are some fairly complex formulas that can be used. Testing them and verifying that they work for all possible values in a given spreadsheet column can take solid background experience with cell formulas. Any trivial error in entering or adjusting any of the functions can make a lot of work trying to figure out where the error is.
 
The fundamental reason that it’s not easy to do is because it’s not what Excel is supposed to do. You’re trying to make a program that’s designed to manipulate numbers do work that should be done by a database. It’s a spreadsheet program not a database or word-processing program. It’s intended to handle monetary or other numeric amounts, and it does that very well.
 
If you want a database function, you should put the data into a database. Access would be a far better choice.
 
But we can probably work out a suggested formula if you supply a description of the column along with the number of rows. See for example return maximum text “value”.
 
Tom

 108,360 pts.

 

Thank you for your help. I may put this into Access if the formula doesn’t work.

 25 pts.