I. Intro
The MAXA function is usually used to return the largest value in a data set. This includes numbers, text, and logic values.
Note: Although the functions for the MAXA function and MAX function are the same, the MAX function only calculates the largest value in a set of numeric values, whereas the MAXA function calculates the largest value of the selected area (which includes numerical, text, and logical values); for example, logical values TRUE is regarded as 1 and FALSE is regarded as 0.
II. Explanation
- Formula: =MAXA(value1,[value2,...])
- Parameters:
- value1 (required): The first numerical parameter from which you want to find the largest value.
- value2 (optional): Numerical parameters 2 to 255, from which you want to find the largest value.
- Example: =MAXA(A2:A100,42)
- Note: If the parameter doesn't contain any value, the MAXA function returns 0.
III. Steps
Use the MAXA function
- Select a cell and enter =MAXA, or click Formulas on the toolbar. Select Statistics, then select the MAXA function.
- Enter formula parameters =MAXA(A2:A6) into the cell.
- Press Enter to display the result, 1, in the cell, which is also the value that represents TRUE.
Delete the MAXA function
Select the cell with the MAXA function applied, and press Delete to clear the formula from the selected cell.
IV. Scenarios
- Audit essentials: Use the MAXA function to quickly find the largest data
Sometimes, data is messy and may contain a variety of data types, such as numbers, text, letters, and logical values. In this case, you can use the MAXA function to compare these different types of values altogether.
- Formula used in the figure below: =MAXA(A2:A8)
- Formula parameter explanation:
- As you can see from the figure below, although there are many data types in column A, you can use the MAXA function to convert them into comparable values, and return the result 1, the value that represents TRUE.
- If we use the MAX function, we will find that the result becomes 0.68 instead of 1. This is because the MAX function ignores other non-numeric data and only compares numbers.