count not including formulas

I have a list of unique items form a much larger list, using the typical formula

=INDEX(Data Dept,MATCH(0,INDEX(COUNTIF($B$5:B6,Data Dept),0,0),0))

But to avoid a string of trailing #NA's I enclose that in an iferror() to show blank (looks empty, but of course is not) results:

=IFERROR(...,"")

I want to put a count of the unique items at the top of the list, but all combinations of count, countif that I try just give the entire list length including these blank cells - not the actual unique items found.

there's two ways that I can think of to go about this (there's probably other solutions too)

First, you can simply copy your column (as text) into another column, then remove duplicates. Then count that column.

The more complicated and efficient way, if you plan on doing this a lot, is to utilize named ranges.

You can create a unique named range by going into your name manager and using a combination of offset and counta.

View an example here:

http://www.excelforum.com/showthread...=1#post4467192

Tony: Perfect - thanks - this is what I had done before but couldn't remember!!