# 2.65 FAQ-623 How do I find the minimum or maximum value in a dataset?

Last Update: 8/10/2015

## Quick Stats Reported to the Status Bar

You can opt to display summary statistics, including minimum and maximum value of a dataset, at the the Status Bar at the bottom of the Origin workspace. Right-click to choose reported statistics from a shortcut menu, or copy them to the Clipboard. For more information see The Status Bar.

## Descriptive Statistics on Columns or Rows

If the dataset is in a column or row, you could carry out statistics on it and get the minimum or maximum. To bring up these tools, select Statistics:Descriptive Statistics:Statistics on Columns/Statistics on Rows. In either dialog, you could find the check boxes for Minimum and Maximum under branch Quantities to Compute >> Quantities.

See:

* The Statistics on Columns Dialog Box.
* The Statistics on Rows Dialog Box.

## Script Solution

Two LabTalk supported functions(max() and min()) are provided for calculating maximum and minimum respectively. For example, to calculate the maximum and minimum in column A, you could run the LabTalk script below in the Script Window(highlight all script and press Enter):

double aMax = max(col(A));
double aMin = min(col(A));

Keywords:Descriptive Statistics, Status Bar, Statistics on Columns, Statistics on Rows