Purpose
Return value
Syntax
=MAKEARRAY(rows,columns,function)- rows - The number of rows to create.
- columns - The number of columns to create.
- function - The custom LAMBDA calculation to apply.
Using the MAKEARRAY function
The MAKEARRAY function returns an array with specified rows and columns, based on a custom LAMBDA calculation. MAKEARRAY can be used to create arrays with variable dimensions that are calculated. The generic syntax for MAKEARRAY looks like this:
=MAKEARRAY(rows,columns,function)
The MAKEARRAY function takes three arguments: rows, columns, and function. Rows is the number of rows to create, and columns is the number of columns to create. The function is a custom LAMBDA (see below) to use when creating values in the array. The total number of values in the array returned by MAKEARRAY will equal rows * columns.
LAMBDA structure
The MAKEARRAY uses the LAMBDA function to apply the function used to calculate array values. The structure of the LAMBDA used by MAKEARRAY is:
LAMBDA(r,c,calculation)
where r represents the row count, c represents the column count originally passed into MAKEARRAY, and calculation is the formula needed to create the values in the final array.
Note: to generate an array with sequential values, see the SEQUENCE function.
Examples
In the formula below, MAKEARRAY is used to create an array with 2 rows and 3 columns, populated with the result multiplying rows by columns:
=MAKEARRAY(2,3,LAMBDA(r,c,r*c)) // returns {1,2,3;2,4,6}
The result is a 2 x 3 array with six values {1,2,3;2,4,6}. The calculation can be a hardcoded value as well. Below are examples of the same formula, with calculation hardcoded as zero and "x", respectively:
=MAKEARRAY(2,3,LAMBDA(r,c,0)) // returns {0,0,0;0,0,0}
=MAKEARRAY(2,3,LAMBDA(r,c,"x")) // returns {"x","x","x";"x","x","x"}
Random values
MAKEARRAY can be used to generate random values. In the formula below. The CHAR function is used with the RANDBETWEEN function to generate random uppercase letters A-Z:
=MAKEARRAY(2,3,LAMBDA(r,c,CHAR(RANDBETWEEN(65,90))))
The result is a 2 x 3 array like {"D","Q","F";"V","C","T"}.
Related functions
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