SCAN function

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Scans an array by applying a LAMBDA to each value and returns an array that has each intermediate value.  

Syntax

=SCAN ([initial_value], array, lambda(accumulator, value, body))

The SCAN function syntax has the following arguments and parameters:

• [initial_value]      Sets the starting value for the accumulator.

• array      An array to be scanned.

• lambda      A LAMBDA that is called to reduce the array. The LAMBDA takes three parameters:

  • accumulator    The value totaled up and returned as the final result.

  • value     The current value from the array.

  • body     The calculation applied to each element in the array.

Remarks

Use the initial_value argument to set the starting value for the accumulator parameter. If you are working with text, set the initial value to "".

Errors

Providing an invalid LAMBDA function or an incorrect number of parameters returns a #VALUE! error called "Incorrect Parameters".

Examples

Example 1: Create a list of factorials

Enter the sample data into cells A1:C2, and then copy the formula into cell D4:

=SCAN(1, A1:C2, LAMBDA(a,b,a*b))

Example 2: Concatenate characters in an array

Enter the sample data into cells A1:C2, and then copy the formula into cell D4:

=SCAN("",A1:C2,LAMBDA(a,b,a&b))