We can apply an array formula to countif wildcards (asterisks or question marks) from the specified range in Excel. Please do as follows:

Select a blank cell you will place the counting result into, and enter the formula =SUM(LEN(A2:A10)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2:A10,"*",""))) into it, and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys simultaneously.

Notes:

(1) In above formula, A2:A10 is the specified range where you will count the total number of asterisks.

(2) For counting the number of question marks, please replace the “*” with “?” in the above formula.

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2. In the opening Formula Helper dialog box, please specify the cell or range you will count the wildcards from into the Text box, type the wildcard into the Word box, and click the Ok button.

Note: Please enclose the wildcard with quotation marks in the Word box.

And then the total number of specified wildcard has been counted at once. See screenshot:

Sometimes, you may need to countif cells containing the specified wildcard (asterisks or question marks) from the specified range in Excel. In this condition, you can apply Kutools for Excel’s Select Specific Cells utility to get it done easily.

1. Select the range you will countif cells containing wildcards from, and click Kutools > Select > Select Specific Cells. See screenshot:

2. In the opening Select Specific Cells dialog box, please check Cell option in the Selection type section, select Contains from the first drop down list in the Specific type section, enter the wildcard into following box, and click the Ok button. See screenshot above.

And then all cells containing the specified wildcard have been selected in the selected range. And at the same time a dialog box comes out and shows how many cells have been selected. See screenshot below:

Please click the OK button to close the Select Specific Cells dialog box.