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EXPAND function in Excel

Expands or pads an array to specified row and column dimensions

=EXPAND(array, rows, [columns], [pad_with])

EXPAND syntax and parameters

Four arguments, two required.

  • arrayarrayRequired

    The array to expand.

  • rowsnumberRequired

    The number of rows in the expanded array. If missing, rows will not be expanded.

  • columnsnumberOptional

    The number of columns in the expanded array. If missing, columns will not be expanded.

  • pad_withanyOptional

    The value with which to pad. The default is #N/A.

EXPAND examples

Formulas you'll actually reuse.

  1. Grow a 9-row table to exactly 12 rows so it lines up with a template, padded with blanks:

    =EXPAND(A2:C10, 12, 3, "")

  2. A column into a zero-filled 3×3 block — handy for matrix setups:

    =EXPAND(SEQUENCE(3), 3, 3, 0)

EXPAND in Google Sheets

No direct equivalent — here's the way around.

Try EXPAND in the playground

Edit the example — nothing to install.

Preloaded with the EXPAND formula from Example 1 — change anything and watch it respond.

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EXPAND errors

What they mean — and the fixes.

  • #VALUE!

    The target size is smaller than the source array — EXPAND only grows.

  • #N/A

    The padding cells show #N/A because pad_with was omitted — pass "" or 0.

Related functions

More ways Excel gets this done.