BYCOL
Unsupported (not recognized)Category: Logical · Last tested 2026-09-01
Real compatibility results for the BYCOL function: executed in Excel for the web, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc, with desktop Excel behavior from Microsoft’s official documentation (we do not run desktop Excel — Excel for the web is a different application and is executed separately). Syntax and links to that documentation are below.
Support matrix
| Engine | Documented | Live-tested | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel (desktop) | Yes | No — documented only | n/a |
| Excel for the web | — | Yes (recalc, 2026-09-01) | Inconclusive (no verdict published) |
| Google Sheets | Yes | Yes (Drive import, 2026-08-29) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| LibreOffice Calc | No | Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-07-29) | Unsupported (not recognized) |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when BYCOL’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-08-29 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-07-29 |
Why isn't BYCOL working in LibreOffice?
LibreOffice Calc does not implement BYCOL as of 25.8.7.3 — in our
executed tests it returns a #NAME? (unrecognized function) error. This is not a typo or a
settings problem, and saving the file as .xlsx does not change it: the function simply isn’t
available yet.
The same formula is documented for Excel, and we executed it successfully in Google Sheets on 2026-08-29.
Watch the LibreOffice version support page —
we re-run every test on each new release, so it will flip to Supported here as soon as it lands.
LAMBDA, the same construct whose storage form makes Excel for the web refuse a workbook outright. A blank left by a removed formula is not a computed result, so no verdict is drawn from it.
Discovered quirks
-
=BYCOL(A1:B2,LAMBDA(c,SUM(c))) on
LibreOffice Calc returned
#NAME?, but the documented/expected
result is {4, 6}.
Provenance
MISMATCH vs expected: value mismatch: expected 4, got '#NAME?'
Executed test cases
Excel for the web (executed 2026-09-01 via OneDrive recalculation)
These values come from Excel for the web, not from desktop Excel. They are two different implementations of the calculation engine, and this run measured only the web one: the corpus was uploaded to OneDrive as .xlsx, recalculated by Excel for the web on open, and downloaded again for readback. Excel for the web is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so the run is identified by its date. Where a value here disagrees with the Expected column — which is Microsoft’s documentation of the desktop product — we cannot tell you whether the web engine diverges from the desktop one or the documentation is wrong about both, because we do not run desktop Excel.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =BYCOL(A1:B2,LAMBDA(c,SUM(c))) | Reduce each column to one value (column sums) | {, } | {4, 6} | Inconclusive |
Google Sheets (executed 2026-08-29 via Drive import)
Google Sheets is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so this run is identified by its date. The corpus was imported to Drive as .xlsx, recalculated by Sheets, and exported back for readback.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =BYCOL(A1:B2,LAMBDA(c,SUM(c))) | Reduce each column to one value (column sums) | {4, 6.0} | {4, 6} | Matched |
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-07-29)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =BYCOL(A1:B2,LAMBDA(c,SUM(c))) | Reduce each column to one value (column sums) | {#NAME?, #NAME?} | {4, 6} | Mismatch |
Docs & syntax
- Excel (desktop): official documentation
- Google Sheets: official documentation
Where BYCOL behaves differently
- Which LibreOffice version for VSTACK, TEXTSPLIT, TAKE & DROP?
VSTACK, HSTACK, TEXTSPLIT, TAKE and DROP return #NAME? in LibreOffice 24.2, 24.8 and 25.2 - our executed runs show all fourteen working only from 25.8.7.3. Full version map by wave. - LAMBDA, MAP & SCAN: Excel vs LibreOffice
Excel evaluates LAMBDA(x,x*2)(5) as 10; LibreOffice returns #VALUE! for inline lambdas and #NAME? for MAP, SCAN and REDUCE. What breaks and how to rewrite it.