Using a Variable in Excel for COUNTIF

Question

First time question and I hope it's easier than I'm making this.

Can I use a variable inside a COUNTIF formula?

Currently my formula is:

=COUNTIF($C$2:$C$415,R6)

I would like to have $415 as my variable. I have tried something along the lines of:

D1=415=COUNTIF($C$2:$C$(D1),R6) ..

but obviously get a error.

The reason I need this is column C will constantly be incrementing as I add more rows.

Instead of going into each of my formulas and updated 415 to 416, 417 etc, I would like to just define a Cell that can be my variable, or total rows.

Currently Column C can have blank cells, so I can't have a macro that finds the next empty cell.. but I do however have Column A with a constant populated cell and stops at the last ticket. However Column A is unrelated to the COUNTIF.

UPDATE 1

I'd also like to mention that I'd be using this variable in many formulas in the spreadsheet. Not only COUNTIF's. Also, the COUNTIF contains text.

UPDATE 2

Actually, I figured it out! I am using this formula instead:

=COUNTIF(INDIRECT("C"&D1&":A"&D2),R6)

I'm putting D1=2 and D2=415 and will just update cell D2 with how many rows I have.

I guess I just needed to ask the question thoroughly to fully understand what I wanted!

Thank you in advance for all help, tips and suggestions.

Answer 1

Would "=COUNTIF($C:$C,R6)" do the trick? This will apply COUNTIF to the whole of column C. It's an easy solution, but probably not the most efficient.

Answer 2

I prefer tables for storing data; as new data is added, the table automatically expands and the columns are already labeled (much like Named Ranges). Then you can have =COUNTIF(Table1[Column1],"Criteria"), which will encompass any new rows added to the table automatically. Especially helpful if you have multiple tables in the same column.