Summary

To convert a column letter to an regular number (e.g. 1, 10, 26, etc.) you can use a formula based on the INDIRECT and COLUMN functions.

In the example shown, the formula in C5 is:

=COLUMN(INDIRECT(B5&"1"))

Generic formula

=COLUMN(INDIRECT(letter&"1"))

Explanation 

The first step is to construct a standard "A1" style reference using the column letter, by adding a "1" with concatenation:

B5&"1"

This results in a text string like "A1" which is passed into the INDIRECT function.

Next, the INDIRECT function transforms the text into a proper Excel reference and hands the result off to the COLUMN function.

Finally, the COLUMN function evaluates the reference and returns the column number for the reference.

Related formulas

Excel formula: Convert column number to letter

Convert column number to letter

In this example, the goal is to convert an ordinary number into a column reference expressed in letters. For example, the number 1 should return "A", the number 2 should return "B", the number 26 should return "Z", etc. The challenge is that Excel can handle over 16,000 columns, so the number of...

Related functions

Excel COLUMN function

COLUMN Function

The Excel COLUMN function returns the column number for a reference. For example, COLUMN(C5) returns 3, since C is the third column in the spreadsheet. When no reference is provided, COLUMN returns the column number of the cell which contains the formula.
Excel INDIRECT function

INDIRECT Function

The Excel INDIRECT function returns a valid cell reference from a given text string. INDIRECT is useful when you want to assemble a text value that can be used as a valid reference.
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Dave Bruns

Hi - I'm Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.

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