well, I was thinking you should do your "limits" row the other way. It won't be helpful to know the lower limit of your min column, right? Its more helpful to know the upper limit of your min column. so if you do MAX(B2:B6) and MIN(C2:C6), that will give you an operable range. Then, you can make one column, just to the right of that =IF(B7<C7, "operable range", "no operable range")