{ "category": "Lookup and reference functions", "display_name": "TAKE", "entry_kind": "built_in_function", "eval_api": { "method": "POST", "url": "https://handbook.dnacalc.com/api/eval" }, "function_id": "FUNC.TAKE", "implementation_state": { "answer_bank": null, "detail": "Recorded: 10 workbook cells.", "dnacalc_commit": "9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87", "in_catalogue": true, "state": "matches", "state_label": "Matches every recorded Excel answer", "summary": "Matches all 10 recorded answers", "workbook_corpus": { "cells": 10, "matched": 10 } }, "implementations": [ { "commit": "9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87", "flavour": "excel-compatibility-candidate", "language": "Rust", "name": "CalcFunc", "own_code": [ "https://github.com/DnaCalc/DnaCalc/blob/9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87/crates/calc-func/src/catalogue/arrays.rs#L646-L652", "https://github.com/DnaCalc/DnaCalc/blob/9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87/crates/calc-func/src/ported/dynamic_array_reshape_family.rs#L365-L390" ], "repository": "https://github.com/DnaCalc/DnaCalc", "shared_code": [ "catalogue/arrays::source_error", "catalogue/arrays::prepared", "catalogue/arrays::prepared_one", "catalogue/arrays::result", "catalogue/arrays::run", "catalogue/arrays::sub_area", "ported/dynamic_array_reshape_family::coerce_prepared_to_number", "ported/dynamic_array_reshape_family::scalar_cell", "ported/dynamic_array_reshape_family::materialize_array_arg", "ported/dynamic_array_reshape_family::shape", "ported/dynamic_array_reshape_family::get", "ported/dynamic_array_reshape_family::parse_integer", "ported/dynamic_array_reshape_family::build_array", "ported/dynamic_array_reshape_family::take_span", "ported/dynamic_array_reshape_family::drop_span", "ported/dynamic_array_reshape_family::map_dynamic_array_reshape_error_to_ws" ], "source": "https://github.com/DnaCalc/DnaCalc/blob/9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87/crates/calc-func/src/catalogue/arrays.rs#L646-L652", "state": "matches", "suite": null, "summary": "Matches all 10 recorded answers" } ], "json_url": "https://handbook.dnacalc.com/api/functions/FUNC.TAKE.json", "name": "TAKE", "notes": [ { "basis": "27 recorded readings in dynamic-array Excel, each with size observers.", "documentation": null, "evidence": [ { "commit": "2d0eddcac86413014643af81d646581d54ba57bc", "locator": "scalar_errors_keep_their_array_argument_origins", "note": "recorded readings pinned", "path": "apps/dna-onecalc/tests/acceptance.rs", "repository": "DnaCalc" }, { "commit": "2d0eddcac86413014643af81d646581d54ba57bc", "locator": "sheets fn2_q001 to fn2_q007, fn2_q031 to fn2_q042, fn2_q232 to fn2_q239", "note": "recorded readings", "path": "crates/calc-func/tests/captures/fn2_questions/oracle.capture.json", "repository": "DnaCalc" } ], "functions": [ "FUNC.BYCOL", "FUNC.BYROW", "FUNC.EXPAND", "FUNC.HSTACK", "FUNC.MAP", "FUNC.TAKE", "FUNC.TOCOL", "FUNC.TOROW", "FUNC.VSTACK" ], "inferred": null, "kind": "quirk", "note_id": "FN-HSTACK-001", "open": [ "Competing errors in later positions have not been read in a published capture." ], "recorded_on": "2026-11-04", "repros": [ { "call": "=HSTACK(1,#VALUE!)", "correct": null, "excel": { "bits": null, "display": "#VALUE!", "kind": "error" }, "input_route": "formula-literal", "inputs": [], "recorded_in": "Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA", "source": { "commit": "2d0eddcac86413014643af81d646581d54ba57bc", "locator": "sheet fn2_q004, row 20, column 10", "note": null, "path": "crates/calc-func/tests/captures/fn2_questions/oracle.capture.json", "repository": "DnaCalc" } }, { "call": "=TAKE(#N/A,0)", "correct": null, "excel": { "bits": null, "display": "#N/A", "kind": "error" }, "input_route": "formula-literal", "inputs": [], "recorded_in": "Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA", "source": { "commit": "2d0eddcac86413014643af81d646581d54ba57bc", "locator": "sheet fn2_q232, row 20, column 10", "note": null, "path": "crates/calc-func/tests/captures/fn2_questions/oracle.capture.json", "repository": "DnaCalc" } }, { "call": "=MAP(NA(),LAMBDA(xx,IFERROR(xx,3)))", "correct": null, "excel": { "bits": null, "display": "#N/A", "kind": "error" }, "input_route": "formula-literal", "inputs": [], "recorded_in": "Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA", "source": { "commit": "2d0eddcac86413014643af81d646581d54ba57bc", "locator": "sheet fn2_q031, row 20, column 10", "note": null, "path": "crates/calc-func/tests/captures/fn2_questions/oracle.capture.json", "repository": "DnaCalc" } }, { "call": "=MAP({#N/A},LAMBDA(xx,3))", "correct": null, "excel": { "bits": "0x4008000000000000", "display": "3", "kind": "number" }, "input_route": "formula-literal", "inputs": [], "recorded_in": "Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA", "source": { "commit": "2d0eddcac86413014643af81d646581d54ba57bc", "locator": "sheet fn2_q032, row 20, column 10", "note": null, "path": "crates/calc-func/tests/captures/fn2_questions/oracle.capture.json", "repository": "DnaCalc" } }, { "call": "=HSTACK(Data!C1,{1;2})", "correct": null, "excel": { "bits": null, "display": "{#N/A,1;#N/A,2}", "kind": "array" }, "input_route": "cell-value2", "inputs": [ { "name": "Data!C1", "value": { "bits": null, "display": "#N/A", "kind": "error" } } ], "recorded_in": "Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA", "source": { "commit": "2d0eddcac86413014643af81d646581d54ba57bc", "locator": "sheet fn2_q238, row 20, column 10", "note": null, "path": "crates/calc-func/tests/captures/fn2_questions/oracle.capture.json", "repository": "DnaCalc" } }, { "call": "=TOCOL(#N/A,2)", "correct": null, "excel": { "bits": null, "display": "#N/A", "kind": "error" }, "input_route": "formula-literal", "inputs": [], "recorded_in": "Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA", "source": { "commit": "2d0eddcac86413014643af81d646581d54ba57bc", "locator": "sheet fn2_q233, row 20, column 10", "note": null, "path": "crates/calc-func/tests/captures/fn2_questions/oracle.capture.json", "repository": "DnaCalc" } }, { "call": "=TOCOL({#N/A},2)", "correct": null, "excel": { "bits": null, "display": "#CALC!", "kind": "error" }, "input_route": "formula-literal", "inputs": [], "recorded_in": "Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA", "source": { "commit": "2d0eddcac86413014643af81d646581d54ba57bc", "locator": "sheet fn2_q234, row 20, column 10", "note": null, "path": "crates/calc-func/tests/captures/fn2_questions/oracle.capture.json", "repository": "DnaCalc" } }, { "call": "=EXPAND(Data!C1,2,2,\"pad\")", "correct": null, "excel": { "bits": null, "display": "#N/A", "kind": "error" }, "input_route": "cell-value2", "inputs": [ { "name": "Data!C1", "value": { "bits": null, "display": "#N/A", "kind": "error" } } ], "recorded_in": "Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA", "source": { "commit": "2d0eddcac86413014643af81d646581d54ba57bc", "locator": "sheet fn2_q237, row 20, column 10", "note": null, "path": "crates/calc-func/tests/captures/fn2_questions/oracle.capture.json", "repository": "DnaCalc" } }, { "call": "=BYROW(#N/A,#VALUE!)", "correct": null, "excel": { "bits": null, "display": "#N/A", "kind": "error" }, "input_route": "formula-literal", "inputs": [], "recorded_in": "Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA", "source": { "commit": "2d0eddcac86413014643af81d646581d54ba57bc", "locator": "sheet fn2_q040, row 20, column 10", "note": null, "path": "crates/calc-func/tests/captures/fn2_questions/oracle.capture.json", "repository": "DnaCalc" } }, { "call": "=BYROW({#N/A},2)", "correct": null, "excel": { "bits": null, "display": "#VALUE!", "kind": "error" }, "input_route": "formula-literal", "inputs": [], "recorded_in": "Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA", "source": { "commit": "2d0eddcac86413014643af81d646581d54ba57bc", "locator": "sheet fn2_q038, row 20, column 10", "note": null, "path": "crates/calc-func/tests/captures/fn2_questions/oracle.capture.json", "repository": "DnaCalc" } } ], "schema": "efh.function-note/v1", "statement": "An error written directly as an argument of these functions is the answer for the whole call. It is not placed in the result: HSTACK(1,#VALUE!) is #VALUE!, not a row holding 1 and an error, and TAKE(#N/A,0) is #N/A. With MAP the LAMBDA does not run at all: MAP(NA(),LAMBDA(xx,IFERROR(xx,3))) is #N/A. The same error inside an array, or in a referenced cell, is an ordinary element: MAP({#N/A},LAMBDA(xx,3)) is 3, and HSTACK(Data!C1,{1;2}) with #N/A in Data!C1 is a 2 by 2 array with #N/A in its first column. TOCOL and TOROW show the difference with ignore 2: TOCOL(#N/A,2) is #N/A, while TOCOL({#N/A},2) drops the error, has nothing left, and is #CALC!. EXPAND is an exception on the cell side: EXPAND(Data!C1,2,2,\"pad\") is #N/A for the whole call. BYROW and BYCOL check the direct error first too: BYROW(#N/A,#VALUE!) is #N/A, while BYROW({#N/A},2), where 2 is not a LAMBDA, is #VALUE!.", "status": "measured", "title": "A direct error stops these array functions; the same error in an array or cell is an element" } ], "schema": "efh.function-reference/v1", "section_order": [ "what-it-does", "try-it", "quirks", "how-to-implement", "version-differences", "alternatives" ], "sections": { "alternatives": "\n### Relationships\n\n\n- **`DROP`** is the exact complement: `DROP(A, k)` removes what `TAKE(A, k)` keeps, and the two\n share the same sign convention and the same empty-slot behaviour. `TAKE(A, 3)` and\n `DROP(A, 3)` partition `A`'s rows.\n- **`CHOOSEROWS` / `CHOOSECOLS`** select arbitrary, non-contiguous indices; `TAKE` is the\n contiguous-from-an-edge special case.\n- **`EXPAND`** is the growing counterpart: `TAKE` clamps down, `EXPAND` pads up.\n- **`INDEX`** with omitted arguments can extract whole rows or columns and predates all of\n these; `TAKE` is the readable modern form.\n- **`TRIMRANGE`** answers a different question — remove the blank margin, whatever size it is —\n where `TAKE` needs the count in advance.\n- Readers confuse `TAKE(A, -1)` (the last row) with `TAKE(A, 1)` (the first). The sign carries\n a lot of meaning in a very small symbol.\n\n\n", "how-to-implement": "\n### Notes for implementers\n\n- Sign is direction; magnitude is count. Implementing negative counts as \"count from the end,\n exclusive\" is off by one and produces plausible output.\n- Clamping is the documented behaviour for oversized counts — not an error, not padding.\n- The empty-slot form in the *leading* required position must normalize to \"all rows\". This is\n a recorded defect class, verified against live Excel on 2026-04-10.\n- The zero-count case has a specific outcome (`#CALC!`) and needs an explicit branch; producing\n a genuinely empty array and letting it leak downstream is not the same thing.\n\n\n", "quirks": "\n### Result and edge cases\n\n\nThe return kind is an array — always, including when it has one element.\n\n- **A count of zero** produces an empty array. Microsoft documents that Excel returns `#CALC!`\n to indicate an empty array when `rows` or `columns` is `0`.\n- **Counts exceeding the array** clamp to the array's extent rather than padding.\n- **Non-integer counts** are expected to truncate; the Handbook has not verified the direction\n or the resulting error for a non-numeric count.\n- Errors and blanks inside the array are carried through as values. A direct error as `array` is\n the answer for the whole call, even with a count of zero: `TAKE(#N/A,0)` is `#N/A`\n (FN-HSTACK-001).\n\n\n\n### Errors\n\n\nDocumented by Microsoft:\n\n| Error | Documented condition |\n|---|---|\n| `#CALC!` | An empty array, when `rows` or `columns` is `0` |\n| `#NUM!` | The array exceeds size limits |\n\n`#SPILL!` arises at publication when the result cannot be placed — a host outcome rather than a\n`TAKE` outcome. Error values arriving in `rows` or `columns` propagate under the ordinary\ncoercion rules.\n\n\n", "sources": "- Microsoft, *TAKE function* —\n \n (syntax, negative counts taking from the end, the `#CALC!` empty-array condition for a zero\n count, the `#NUM!` size condition, and the `=TAKE(A2:C4,,2)` column-slice example).\n Retrieved for this page.\n- Handbook `content/model/01-value-universe.md` (`Missing` versus `Empty`, the `#CALC!`\n convention) and `content/model/03-call-pipeline.md`.\n- Handbook `data/functions/FUNC.TAKE.json` (signature, arity, classification axes).\n\n", "version-differences": "No comparison between specific Excel builds is recorded here yet. This does not establish that all builds behave alike.", "what-it-does": "\n`TAKE` returns a contiguous corner block of an array.\n\nGiven an `m × n` array `A`, a row count `r` and a column count `c`, the result is the\nsub-array formed by:\n\n- the **first `r` rows** if `r > 0`, or the **last `|r|` rows** if `r < 0`;\n- the **first `c` columns** if `c > 0`, or the **last `|c|` columns** if `c < 0`.\n\nThe sign is the direction, and the magnitude is the count. That is the whole rule, and it is\nwhat makes `TAKE(A, -1)` — the last row — one of the most useful short formulas in modern\nExcel.\n\nCounts larger than the array are the interesting case: `TAKE(A, 100)` over a five-row array\nreturns five rows. `TAKE` clamps rather than padding or erroring, which is what makes it safe\nto use with a computed count. (`EXPAND` is the function that pads.)\n\n\n\n### Arguments\n\n\nMicrosoft documents `TAKE(array, rows, [columns])`.\n\n| Argument | Required | Meaning |\n|---|---|---|\n| `array` | yes | The array to take from |\n| `rows` | yes (but omissible as an empty slot — see below) | Number of rows; negative takes from the end |\n| `columns` | no | Number of columns; negative takes from the end |\n\nThe subtlety readers most often miss is the **empty slot** in the second position.\n`TAKE(A, , 2)` — with the row count written as nothing between two commas — means \"all rows,\nfirst two columns\". The signature marks `rows` as required, and it is required in the sense that\nyou cannot write `TAKE(A)`; but the omitted-slot spelling is legal and meaningful, and it is the\nidiomatic way to slice columns only.\n\n| Formula | Excel result |\n|---|---|\n| `=TAKE({1,2;3,4},,1)` | `{1;3}` |\n| `=TAKE({1,2;3,4},,-1)` | `{2;4}` |\n| `=DROP({1,2;3,4},,1)` | `{2;4}` |\n| `=DROP({1,2;3,4},,-1)` | `{1;3}` |\n\nThat record exists because an implementation treated the empty slot as a missing required\nargument and returned an error. It is the clearest available illustration of why\n[the value universe](../model/01-value-universe.md)'s `Missing`-versus-`Empty` distinction is\nnot academic.\n\n\n" }, "signature": { "display": "TAKE(array, rows, [columns])", "parameters": [ { "description": null, "name": "array", "optional": false, "repeats": false }, { "description": null, "name": "rows", "optional": false, "repeats": false }, { "description": null, "name": "columns", "optional": true, "repeats": false } ], "trailing_repeats": false }, "sources": { "metadata": { "admission": { "label": "implemented", "reason": null }, "arity": { "max": 3, "min": 2 }, "category": "Lookup and reference functions", "classification": { "arg_preparation_profile": "ValuesOnlyPreAdapter", "coercion_lift_profile": "Custom", "determinism_class": "Deterministic", "error_collapse_profile": "None", "fec_dependency_profile": "None", "host_interaction_class": "None", "kernel_signature_class": "Custom", "rich_value_usage": "RichBlind", "surface_fec_dependency_profile": "RefOnly", "thread_safety_class": "SafePure", "volatility_class": "NonVolatile" }, "descriptions": { "long": null, "short": "Rows or columns kept from the start or end of an array", "short_source": "dna-calc-own" }, "docs": { "english_description": "Returns a specified number of contiguous rows or columns from the start or end of an array", "microsoft_url": "https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/take-function-25382ff1-5da1-4f78-ab43-f33bd2e4e003" }, "entry_kind": "built_in_function", "localized_family_names": null, "localized_names": [ { "locale": "ar-SA", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "bg-BG", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "cs-CZ", "name": "VZÍT" }, { "locale": "da-DK", "name": "TAG" }, { "locale": "de-DE", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "el-GR", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "en-AU", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "en-GB", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "en-US", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "es-ES", "name": "TOMAR" }, { "locale": "et-EE", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "fi-FI", "name": "OTA" }, { "locale": "fr-FR", "name": "PRENDRE*" }, { "locale": "he-IL", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "hr-HR", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "hu-HU", "name": "ÁTHELYEZ" }, { "locale": "id-ID", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "it-IT", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "ja-JP", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "ko-KR", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "lt-LT", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "lv-LV", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "nb-NO", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "nl-NL", "name": "NEMEN" }, { "locale": "pl-PL", "name": "WYCINEK" }, { "locale": "pt-BR", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "pt-PT", "name": "INCLUIR" }, { "locale": "ro-RO", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "ru-RU", "name": "ВЗЯТЬ" }, { "locale": "sk-SK", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "sl-SI", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "sr-Latn-RS", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "sv-SE", "name": "TA" }, { "locale": "th-TH", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "tr-TR", "name": "AL" }, { "locale": "uk-UA", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "vi-VN", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "zh-CN", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "zh-HK", "name": "TAKE" }, { "locale": "zh-TW", "name": "TAKE" } ], "signature": { "display": "TAKE(array, rows, [columns])", "parameters": [ { "description": null, "name": "array", "optional": false, "repeats": false }, { "description": null, "name": "rows", "optional": false, "repeats": false }, { "description": null, "name": "columns", "optional": true, "repeats": false } ], "trailing_repeats": false }, "surface_name": "TAKE", "version_marker": null, "xlcall": null }, "microsoft": "https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/take-function-25382ff1-5da1-4f78-ab43-f33bd2e4e003" }, "try_it": { "formula": "=TAKE({1,2;3,4},1)" }, "url": "https://handbook.dnacalc.com/functions/TAKE.html", "variants": [], "versions": [ { "behaviour": "=TAKE(#N/A,0) returned #N/A. Inputs were supplied through formula literals. These are controls from this environment, not a same-input comparison with another build.", "excel_build": "16.0.20527.20088", "observations": [ { "call": "=TAKE(#N/A,0)", "excel": { "bits": null, "display": "#N/A", "kind": "error" }, "input_route": "formula-literal", "inputs": [], "recorded_in": "Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA" } ], "platform": "Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA", "sources": [ "https://github.com/DnaCalc/ExcelFunctionsHandbook/blob/3345a87/content/notes/FN-HSTACK-001.json" ] } ] }