When working within the Microsoft Office Excel Spreadsheet software program and you want to count the characters within a given cell, column or row, you may do so by simply inserting = LEN(CELL) into an empty adjacent cell where you want to be able to view the character length. Insert the specific cell coordinates you want to perform the character count length for. An example of this Excel Spreadsheet tech tip might be = LEN(A2). If you want to add this function to additional cells, simply select the cell with your cursor. Then, copy (CTRL+C) and paste (CTRL+P) into the cells you want to insert the function. When working with a large selection of data within a given database, I'll individually copy and past 10 of them. Then, I'll select those10 and copy and past until I get 100 of them and repeat the procedure so that implementing the function into 2,000 fields is not overwhelming. Of course there are other means of replicating field data, but it is easier for me to use this method rather than attempting to acquire the information from my mind's archive of Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet software program guide of quick tips.

Why would you use this function? Well, in my case, various databases and database programs use character (digit) limits to reduce the query load on the database and increase the speed of the programs operations. This can be altered within the database structure, but again, it will produce additional load on the system. You may get away with increasing the character length with little to no adverse effect, depending upon your system and its operational demands.

Currently, I am working with Softek Software and its accounting and inventory program, The Business Assistant (TBA). They provide services and databases for a variety of industries, including the powersports, dirt bike, street bike, lawn mower, snowmobile and other such industries that include limited parts databases for import from major parts distributors such as Parts Unlimited and Tucker Rocky. Anyhow, their character limit for the part name description field is set at 50. This sucks. Because I'm not about to hack the database, I used this Microsoft Office Excel Spreadsheet software program function to reveal the length of characters within my parts name description fields. 

Other online e-commerce programs such as Cube Cart, OsCommerce and Joomla Virtuemart, which I frequently use, have character limits that range in the 60-90 range. Again, these constraints can be changed by increasing the character limits by modifying the database structure within the database. The most common database type for these programs is often MySQL and SQL. The most common file extensions you might be working with are .XLS, .CSV, and .PRN. If you need help with that type of operation, simply ask.