If you decide to spill the results, you can then use the spilled range operator (#) to perform a calculation on the spilled range. Simply reference the first cell of the spilled range with a # ...
In most counting scenarios in Excel, COUNTBLANK reliably counts blank cells, and COUNTA reliably counts populated cells.
We noted that Excel turned 40 this year. That makes it seem old, and today, if you say “spreadsheet,” there’s a good chance ...