OFFSET function

This article describes the formula syntax and usage of the OFFSET function in Microsoft Excel.

Description

Returns a reference to a range that is a specified number of rows and columns from a cell or range of cells. The reference that is returned can be a single cell or a range of cells. You can specify the number of rows and the number of columns to be returned.

Syntax

OFFSET(reference, rows, cols, [height], [width])

The OFFSET function syntax has the following arguments:

• Reference    Required. The reference from which you want to base the offset. Reference must refer to a cell or range of adjacent cells; otherwise, OFFSET returns the #VALUE! error value.

• Rows    Required. The number of rows, up or down, that you want the upper-left cell to refer to. Using 5 as the rows argument specifies that the upper-left cell in the reference is five rows below reference. Rows can be positive (which means below the starting reference) or negative (which means above the starting reference).

• Cols    Required. The number of columns, to the left or right, that you want the upper-left cell of the result to refer to. Using 5 as the cols argument specifies that the upper-left cell in the reference is five columns to the right of reference. Cols can be positive (which means to the right of the starting reference) or negative (which means to the left of the starting reference).

• Height    Optional. The height, in number of rows, that you want the returned reference to be. Height must be a positive number.

• Width    Optional. The width, in number of columns, that you want the returned reference to be. Width must be a positive number.

Remarks

• If rows and cols offset reference over the edge of the worksheet, OFFSET returns the #REF! error value.

• If height or width is omitted, it is assumed to be the same height or width as reference.

• OFFSET doesn't actually move any cells or change the selection; it just returns a reference. OFFSET can be used with any function expecting a reference argument. For example, the formula SUM(OFFSET(C2,1,2,3,1)) calculates the total value of a 3-row by 1-column range that is 1 row below and 2 columns to the right of cell C2.

Example

Copy the example data in the following table, and paste it in cell A1 of a new Excel worksheet. For formulas to show results, select them, press F2, and then press Enter. If you need to, you can adjust the column widths to see all the data.

Formula	Description	Result
=OFFSET(D3,3,-2,1,1)	Displays the value in cell B6 (4)	4
=SUM(OFFSET(D3:F5,3,-2, 3, 3))	Sums the range B6:C8	34
=OFFSET(D3, -3, -3)	Returns an error, because the reference is to a non-existent range on the worksheet.	#REF!
	Data	Data
	4	10
	8	3
	3	6