Being an Illini fan is a goddamn curse.*
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on March 9, 2026, 13:35:15, in reply to "A simple google query would answer this then*"
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I'm not allowed to use open source AI for work due to confidentiality issues and my job definitely isn't paying for us to use AI.
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but this feels like a pretty basic use case. In fact, it's one of the few ways that I use AI.
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Nor shouldn't
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You should be, it's there to help you, and I fucking hate AI.
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Yes. In Excel or Google Sheets, you can count how many dates in a row occur before a specified date using the COUNTIF function.
Example
Assume:
Columns A–D contain the dates.
You want to count how many are before June 1, 2026.
Column E will contain the formula.
Put this in E2:
=COUNTIF(A2:D2,"<"&DATE(2026,6,1))
How it works
A2:D2 → the four date cells in that row.
"<"&DATE(2026,6,1) → counts values earlier than June 1, 2026.
The result will be 0–4, depending on how many dates meet the condition.
If the comparison date is in a cell
If the cutoff date is in F1, use:
=COUNTIF(A2:D2,"<"&$F$1)
This lets you change the date once in F1 and have all rows update automatically.
If some cells might be blank
COUNTIF already ignores blanks, so the formula still works correctly.
✅ If you'd like, tell me:
Excel or Google Sheets
whether the cutoff date changes per row or is one fixed date
…and I can give you the best formula for your exact layout.
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I have a spreadsheet with 4 columns of dates. Is there a formula I can put into a fifth column that will tell me how many of the dates in each row are before a certain date?
Sometimes you just need to yeet a bobcat *![]()
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Excel question - Taz March 9, 2026, 13:10:28
- osklister March 9, 2026, 17:03:17
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