In the example shown, the formula in G7 is: To pull a random value out of a list or table, we’ll need a random row number. For that, we’ll use the RANDBETWEEN function, which generates a random integer between two given values - an upper value and lower value. For the lower value, we use the number 1, and for the upper value we use the ROWS function to get count the total rows in the table or list: RANDBETWEEN will return a random number between 1 and the count of rows in the data, and this result is fed into the INDEX function for the rows argument. For the columns argument, we simply use 1, since we want a name from the first column. So, assuming that RANDBETWEEN returns 7 (as in the example) the formula reduces to: Which returns the name “Tim Moore”, in row 7 of the table. Note that RANDBETWEEN will recalculate whenever a worksheet is changed or opened.
Dave Bruns
Hi - I’m Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.
