I'll soon be receiving a wackload of data that will be distributed in multiple textfiles. The data will be mostly positive numbers, with the occasional negative thrown in. The data will be arranged in a static # of columns with variable # of rows per file. Note that although the # of rows will vary between files, the # of rows will be consistent between each column within every file.

I'll be making plots using various combinations of each column so i'll need to know the range of data within each column. This will be repeated MANY times with MANY files so my idea is to make a template and just copy/paste the data from file into excel and voila, the plots are made. However, because the # of rows will vary between files, the corresponding range will vary as well.

I'm wondering if it's possible to return the range of cells within a column that contain values? If so, how? Would doing this require a script?

Throughout my searching i've seen formulas that seem to do the job, or a very similar one, but i can't figure out how to apply them to my particular situation. The question fueled by observations was whether or excel will return the range of cells within a column that contain values....from all of the cells in the entire column? All that i've seen have been from within a specified range of the column. If not i'm assuming the altnernative would be to merely specify a range that will be outside the maximum # of rows i'll be using?

I'm comfortable with excel but only with basic formulas. I've tried reading the Excel help, browsed through all of the built in functions and tried searching the net for something that meets my needs...without sucdess. I think it's a problem with knowing exactly what to look for ....before being able to get the right answer. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.