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TAKE

Category: MS Excel compatibility function · Native since: Excel 2024

Returns rows/columns from the start or end of an array.

Syntax

=TAKE(array, rows, [cols])

Arguments

Argument Required Description
array Required the array
rows Required rows to take (neg = from end)
cols Optional columns to take (optional)

Returns

Returns the requested number of rows/columns from the start (positive) or end (negative) of the array; on dynamic-array hosts the result spills. Returns #VALUE! if the array is empty or the row/column count resolves to 0.

Examples

Formula Result Description
=TAKE({1,2,3;4,5,6;7,8,9},2) {1,2,3;4,5,6} First two rows
=TAKE({1,2,3;4,5,6;7,8,9},-1,2) {7,8} Last row, first two columns
=TAKE({1,2;3,4},0) #VALUE! Zero rows is an error

Notes

  • Negative rows/cols take from the end.
  • An empty result returns #VALUE! instead of the native #CALC!.
  • Arrays in rows·columns return an array of that argument's shape where each element is the first value of that element's result (native-compatible demotion lifting).
  • Related function: DROP
  • Supported: Excel 2010+. Registered as TAKE (drop-in) on hosts without the native function, and as EG.TAKE on modern Excel that has it.