Excel DMAX Function

The Excel DMAX function gets the maximum value in a given field from a set of records that match criteria. The database argument is a range of cells that includes field headers, field is the name or index of the field to get a max value from, and criteria is a range of cells with headers that match those in database. 

Using the example above, you can get the maximum value from the field "Price" for records where the color is "Red" and quantity is > 2 with these formulas:

=DMAX(B7:E14,"Price",B4:E5) // field by name
=DMAX(B7:E14,2,B4:E5) // field by index

Criteria options

The criteria can include a variety of expressions, including some wildcards. The table below shows some examples:

Note: it appears support for wildcards is not as extensive as with other functions like COUNTIFS, SUMIFS, MATCH, etc. For example, the pattern ??? will match strings with 3 exactly characters in more modern functions, but not in the database functions. If you are using wildcards, test carefully.

Multi-row criteria

The criteria range for DMAX can include more than one row below the headers. When criteria includes more than one row, each row is joined with OR logic, and the expressions in a given criteria row are joined with AND logic.

Notes:

• DMAX supports some wildcards in criteria
• Criteria can include more than one row (as explained above)
• The field argument can be supplied as a name in double quotes ("") or as a number representing field index.
• The database and criteria ranges must include matching headers.