The Excel ROW Function

Related Function:

Function Description

The Excel Row function returns the first row number within a supplied reference or the number of the current row.

The syntax of the Row function is:

ROW( [reference] )

Where [reference] is an optional argument that specifies the Excel reference that you want to return the row number of. If the [reference] argument is omitted, the function returns the row number of the current cell (i.e. the cell that the function is entered into).

Row Function Examples

The spreadsheet below shows six examples of the Excel Row function.

Formulas:

	A	B
1	=ROW( )	=ROW( )
2	=ROW( )	=ROW( )
3	=ROW( E7 )	=ROW( G8:H9 )

Results:

	A	B
1	1	1
2	2	2
3	7	8

Note that in the above examples:

The examples in cells A1-B2 omit the [reference] argument. Therefore, in these cases, the Excel Row function returns the row number of the cell that the function is entered into.
The example in cell A3 provides the reference for cell E7 to the Row function. Therefore, in this case, the function returns row number 7.
The example in cell B3 provides the range G8:H9 to the Row function. Therefore, in this case, the function returns the row number of the first cell in the supplied range (i.e. cell G8), which is row number 8.

Further Examples

For a practical example of the Excel Row function, see the Variable Drop-Down List page of this website.

Also, for further examples of the Excel Row function, see the Microsoft Office website.

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