BeginnerText Functions
Check code length with LEN
Use LEN to validate that product codes are the right length.
LEN
3 min10 points
LEN practice exercises
Counts the characters in a text value, spaces included. Below are 1 interactive exercise that put it to work on realistic business data — you write the formula, and get told exactly what went wrong when it does not work.
Syntax
LEN(text)
Practise LEN
Ordered from most approachable to hardest.
When LEN is the right tool
Counts the characters in a text value, spaces included. It belongs to the text functions family, and it shows up constantly in real work — which is why it is worth being genuinely fluent rather than merely familiar.
Reading about a function is not the same as being able to write it. The exercises on this page exist because the gap between recognising LEN and producing it from memory, correctly, on data you have not seen before, only closes by doing it.
Related functions
Questions about LEN
How do I practise LEN without Excel installed?
Every exercise on this page runs in your browser. You type the LEN formula into a real spreadsheet grid and get told immediately whether it works — no download, no account.
What does LEN do?
Counts the characters in a text value, spaces included. The syntax is LEN(text). The exercises below put it to work on realistic business data rather than abstract examples.
How long does it take to learn LEN?
Most people can write a working LEN formula within twenty minutes of practice. Getting it right under pressure — with edge cases, unsorted data and ranges that must survive being filled down — is what the harder exercises here are for.