COUNTIFS Function (OpenOffice Calc)

Statistical Intermediate OpenOffice Calc Introduced in OpenOffice.org 4.0
conditional multi-criteria counting data-analysis

The COUNTIFS function in OpenOffice Calc counts cells that meet multiple conditions. Learn syntax, examples, wildcard rules, common errors, and best practices.

Compatibility

What the COUNTIFS Function Does

  • Counts cells that meet two or more conditions
  • Supports numeric, text, date, and logical criteria
  • Allows comparison operators (>, <, >=, <>, etc.)
  • Supports wildcard matching (* and ?)
  • Evaluates each condition across aligned ranges
  • Works across sheets
  • Ideal for dashboards, analytics, and filtered datasets

COUNTIFS is essential for multi‑criteria data analysis.

Syntax

COUNTIFS(criteria_range1; criteria1; criteria_range2; criteria2; ...)

Arguments:

  • criteria_range1 — The first range to evaluate
  • criteria1 — The first condition
  • criteria_range2; criteria2; … — Additional range/condition pairs
All criteria ranges must be the same size.

Wildcard Rules

COUNTIFS supports:

  • * — matches any sequence of characters
  • ? — matches any single character
  • ~ — escapes literal * or ?

Examples:

  • "A*" matches any text starting with A
  • "*Service*" matches text containing “Service”
  • "???" matches any 3‑character string
  • "~*" matches a literal asterisk

Basic Examples

Count cells meeting two conditions

=COUNTIFS(A1:A100; "North"; B1:B100; ">1000")

Count cells matching text and numeric criteria

=COUNTIFS(A1:A50; "Service"; B1:B50; "<=500")

Count cells using wildcard matching

=COUNTIFS(A1:A200; "Jan*"; B1:B200; ">0")

Count cells using cell‑based criteria

=COUNTIFS(A1:A100; E1; B1:B100; E2)

If:

  • E1 contains "North"
  • E2 contains ">500"

…the formula uses those conditions dynamically.

Advanced Examples

Count cells across sheets

=COUNTIFS(Sheet1.A1:A500; "West"; Sheet1.B1:B500; "<100")

Count cells within a date range

=COUNTIFS(A1:A1000; ">=" & DATE(2025;1;1); A1:A1000; "<=" & DATE(2025;12;31))

Count cells not equal to something

=COUNTIFS(A1:A100; "<>North"; B1:B100; ">0")

Count cells with partial text match

=COUNTIFS(A1:A100; "*Service*"; B1:B100; ">100")

Count cells using numeric thresholds

=COUNTIFS(B1:B200; ">50"; C1:C200; "<100")

OR logic workaround

OpenOffice Calc does not support OR conditions directly in COUNTIFS.
Use two COUNTIFS and add them:

=COUNTIFS(A1:A100; "North") +
  COUNTIFS(A1:A100; "South")

Count blank cells with multiple conditions

=COUNTIFS(A1:A100; "="; B1:B100; ">0")

Common Errors and Fixes

COUNTIFS returns 0 unexpectedly

Possible causes:

  • Criteria missing quotes
  • Text numbers not matching numeric criteria
  • Hidden spaces in cells
  • Wildcards not used correctly
  • Date criteria not constructed properly
  • Criteria ranges not the same size

COUNTIFS includes values you expected it to ignore

COUNTIFS includes:

  • Text numbers ("123")
  • Dates (stored as numbers)
  • Formulas returning text

COUNTIFS excludes values you expected it to include

COUNTIFS ignores:

  • Logical values (TRUE/FALSE)
  • Errors
  • Empty cells

Err:504 — Parameter error

Occurs when:

  • Criteria ranges differ in size
  • A malformed range is used
  • A text criterion is missing quotes

Err:508 — Missing parenthesis

Usually caused by:

  • Missing )
  • Using commas instead of semicolons

Best Practices

  • Ensure all criteria ranges are the same size
  • Use cell references for dynamic criteria
  • Use wildcards for flexible text matching
  • Clean imported data to remove hidden spaces
  • Use helper columns for complex logic
  • Use named ranges for cleaner formulas
For multi‑criteria dashboards, store each condition in its own cell and reference them:
Example: =COUNTIFS(Region; F1; Category; F2; Quarter; F3)

Copyright 2026. All rights reserved.