Excel 2000 in a Nutshell

Name

RANDBETWEEN

Synopsis

You can use RANDBETWEEN (an Analysis ToolPak function) to determine a random integer within the range you specify. When you use this function a new random integer is generated each time you open or recalculate the worksheet. Unlike RAND, this function only returns an integer value.

To Calculate

=RANDBETWEEN(Bottom, Top)

The Bottom and Top arguments are required for this function.

Bottom

Indicates the smallest number that you want returned by the function. If you specify a fractional value, the function will not return an integer value smaller than that value. For example, if you specify a value of 0.65 for the Bottom argument the smallest value that would be returned by the function is 1.

Top

Indicates the largest number that you want returned by the function. If you specify a fractional value the function will not return an integer value larger than the specified value. For example, if you specified a value of 9.5 for the Top argument the largest value that would be returned would be 9.

Example

Figure 14-19 illustrates the differences between using RAND and RANDBETWEEN. Both functions produce random numbers that are regenerated whenever you recalculate the worksheet. RANDBETWEEN always returns an integer value.

Note

To find a random number between and 1, use RAND. RAND also allows you to determine random numbers that contain decimal values.