Checking for a Value in a Cell

Summary: Need to figure out if a cell contains a number so that your formula makes sense? (Perhaps it would return an error if the cell didn't contain a number.) You can use the ISNUMBER function, described in this tip, to check for the value you need. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)

If you need to base a calculation on whether a cell has a number in it or not, you can use the ISNUMBER worksheet function. This function returns True if the target cell contains a numeric value or False if it contains anything else. For instance, if you want to do a calculation based on whether cell A3 contains a number, you could use the following:

=IF(ISNUMBER(A3),(A3*12)/52,"Enter number in cell A3")

This example results in the cell containing the result of (A3 * 12) / 52, but only if A3 contains a number. If it does not (for instance, it is blank or contains text), then the result contains the text "Enter number in cell A3."

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2113) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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Checking for a Value in a Cell