Excel Value Error

In Microsoft Excel, when you perform a mathematical operation on cells that contain text and values, you may receive a #VALUE! error..

(If you are looking for an example of how to use the Excel IF Value - click here.)

Although some functions correctly evaluate cells and ignore text strings, if you add the cells by using arithmetic operators such as:

Addition (+)
Subtraction (-)
Multiplication (*)
Division (/)

...an error value may occur.

Instead of using an individual mathematical operator, use its equivalent worksheet function instead:

SUM (adds)
PRODUCT (multiplies)
QUOTIENT (divides)

For example, if you type the following information in cells A1:A7 of a worksheet

A1: 10
A2: text
A3: 20

A4: =A1+A2+A3 - incorrect
A5: =SUM(A1+A2+A3) - incorrect

A6: =SUM(A1,A2,A3) - correct
A7: =SUM(A1:A3) - correct

...the formulas in cells A4 and A5 return a #VALUE! error; however, cells A6 and A7 return the correct value of 30.

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