Sum of Len In Column

[VegasL]

Hello,

I have a column of text which I want to find the sum of # of total characters.

For example:

In column A, row 2, I have:

abc
def
ghi


i want it to show me the total result of 9, which is sum of all characters in this range.

I tried =SUM(LEN($A$2:$A$4)), but that just counts total length of characters of cell per row.

I suppose I could find total # of characters per row, then create a new total of that sum, but one step would be easier.

thanks for any help in advance.

[Andy Pope]

You need to enter it as an array formula. CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER

[DonkeyOte]

Or use SUMPRODUCT which does not require CSE

=SUMPRODUCT(LEN(A2:A4))

[VegasL]

very neat,,thanks to both of you appreciate it.