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CHOOSECOLS function in Google Sheets

Creates a new array from the selected columns in the existing range.

=CHOOSECOLS(array, col_num1, [col_num2])

CHOOSECOLS syntax and parameters

Three arguments, two required.

  • arrayarrayRequired

    The array that contains the columns to be returned.

  • col_num1numberRequired

    The column number of the first column to be returned.

  • col_num2numberRepeating

    [ OPTIONAL ] The column number(s) of additional column(s) to be returned.

CHOOSECOLS examples

Formulas you'll actually reuse.

  1. Just Customer, Amount, and Status out of a six-column export:

    =CHOOSECOLS(A2:F200, 1, 4, 6)
  2. The last column wherever it sits — negative indexes count from the right:

    =CHOOSECOLS(A2:F200, -1)

CHOOSECOLS in Excel

Same name — your formula ports as-is.

Try CHOOSECOLS in the playground

Edit the example — nothing to install.

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

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CHOOSECOLS errors

What they mean — and the fixes.

  • #VALUE!

    A column number is 0 or beyond the array's width — indexes are 1-based, and negative ones count back from the last column.