Trying to format a cell (throughout entire column) if formula result of SAME CELL returns value of >.001
In other words, if result is 0, nothing will be entered into cell.
The comment would work. Another way would be suppose your desired formula is A2-B2 (you are testing whether the things are meaningfully different). Using your criterion (leaving aside whether it might be more meaningful to say the absolute value must exceed .001), you could rewrite your formula as:
=if(A2-B2>0.001,A2-B2,"")
This would generalize to any formula.
Related
I have a very unexpected outcome of OR used in conditional formatting formula.
Take a simple sheet:
Now add conditional formatting with formula:
=B4:G7=$A$1
It works as expected, with true value for cells containing "A"
Now try another formula:
=OR(B4:G7=$A$1;FALSE)
Which should basically mean the same. Well.. the outcome is very different:
What's even more confusing is that chaging, for example, cell I7 to "a" influences the outcome:
This is exact formula I have used, with "LUB" being "OR", and "FAŁSZ" being "FALSE":
Edit:
I forgot to stand the question. Question is: why does it happens? How do I use OR correctly in that context?
First, you need to understand how absolute and relative reference works in conditional formatting. Formula references refer to the very top left cell in the applies to range. If the formula has relative references, then for each applies to cell the cell in the formula reference shifts accordingly, if absolute - then the reference does not change. In your case, the formula =B4:G7=$A$1 is applied to cell B4, to cell C4 - =C4:H7=$A$1, to cell B5 - =B5:G8=$A$1, the same thing happens with formula =OR(B4:G7=$A$1;FALSE).
Second, the formulas =B4:G7=$A$1 and =OR(B4:G7=$A$1;FALSE) work completely differently. The first case actually compares the first cell of the range with $A$1, i.e. in the previous example =B4=$A$1, =C4=$A$1, B5=$A$1. In the second case, the range is divided into cells, they are compared with $A$1 and the results are passed to the OR function, i.e. =OR(B4:G7=$A$1;FALSE) => =OR(B4=$A$1;C4=$A$1;D4=$A$1 ... G7=$A$1;FALSE) and if even if one is TRUE, then you also get the resulting TRUE.
Consequently, we can conclude that the following formula will work correctly for you in this case:
=OR(B4=$A$1;FALSE)
In order to do some calculations on averages and differences of values in columns, I've defined a name, based on a range, but it seems to be completely going berserk:
I have a cell (D13), defined as Header_First _Answer, which contains the title of the column, and I have a value (currently being 69), which contains the number of entries, called Total_Count.
I've defined the entries of that column as another name: "All_First_Answered_Dates", defined as =OFFSET(Header_First_Answer;1;0):OFFSET(Header_First_Answer;Total_Count;0) (start by the first entry under Header_First_Answer, take up to 69 entries, and define a range out of this).
In cell G5, I'm using that name in order to do some calculations (calculating averages), but this seems not to work (there is a #Value error).
After second comment from Rory: G5 formula and first formula evaluation result:
Formula:
=AVERAGE(IF(ISBLANK(All_First_Answered_Dates);TODAY();All_First_Answered_Dates) - All_Start_Dates)
First evaluation result:
=AVERAGE(IF(ISBLANK(#Value!);TODAY();All_First_Answered_Dates) - All_Start_Dates)
Hence, my conclusion:
After some checking I've found out that this is due to the name "All_First_Answered_Dates", which seems to be interpreted one time too many (or how do I explain this):
In different cells, I've entered the formula =OFFSET(Header_First_Answer;1;0):OFFSET(Header_First_Answer;Total_Count;0) (which is exactly the meaning of "All_First_Answered_Dates"), and every time, using the Evaluate Formula feature, I see that the last but one result is correct: $D$14:$D$82. However, after that, another evaluation is done, turning this value into 43283 (in case the formula is entered in "J14"), 43300 (in case the formula is entered in "J15"), ..., and in case I enter this formula in a cell with row number lower than 14, I have the error value #Value (which explains the wrong result in cell G5).
If I simply put the formula =$D$14:$D$82 in any of the mentioned cells, then the content of some cells in column D are shown (which are dates, not values like 43283 or 43300).
It appears that declaring a range as =x:y, where x and y are formula results, is not working.
Does anybody know how I can define a range as a formula, which I can then use in order to define in a name?
I can imagine my explanation being quite complicated without an image, hence the attached screenshot. In there:
In cell J13, there is the formula =OFFSET(Header_First_Answer;1;0):OFFSET(Header_First_Answer;Total_Count;0).
In cell J14, there is the same formula.
In cell K14, there is the formula =$D$14:$D$82.
For completion purposes, hereby a screenshot of the name manager, containing both mentioned names (the ones, selected in the name manager):
Edit after first comment:
The idea behind the range is the following:
1. Take the first row under Header_First_Answer, do not take any other column : OFFSET(Header_First_Answer;1;0)
2. Take the Total_Count's row under Header_First_Answer, do not take any other column : OFFSET(Header_First_Answer;Total_Count;0)
3. Define a range, based on those two cells, by putting a semicolon between them.
I was not aware of the height and width features of the Offset() worksheet function. I've implemented them, which makes the formulas much easier.
Unfortunately the problem still persists.
Thanks in advance
Dominique
I've just found the answer of what was going wrong:
The formula was meant to be an array formula. Something went wrong and while trying to debug, I accidently re-formatted the formula into a normal formula (I must have pressed "ENTER" instead of "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "ENTER") at some point.
I have re-applied array formula (using "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "ENTER"), getting a formula like:
{=AVERAGE(IF(ISBLANK(All_First_Answered_Dates);TODAY();All_First_Answered_Dates) - All_Start_Dates)}
(mind the braces {, })
Now everything is working fine.
This should be an easy one but I cannot figure it out for the life of me. I want to change a cell's value from another cell based on an IF statement.
I have
=IF(ISNUMBER(I2/J2),"K2"=I2/J2,Null)
This formula is in L2. I'm trying to get K2 to be the value of I2/J2 but it's evaluating it as T/F.
How do I "remotely" set a cell value please?
Your formula needs to go into K2. You can't remotely set a value of another cell. In K2 put =IF(ISNUMBER(I2/J2),I2/J2,Null)
...although I'm not sure why you are testing that the result of a division is a number. It's either a number or it's an error. Perhaps =IF(ISERROR(I2/J2),I2/J2,Null) would be more appropriate.
Is it possible in Google Spreadsheets to reach the value of the cell just above?
Meaning: In one cell A2 I want to display the value from the cell above, that is A1. Not because it is that coordinate, but because it is the cell above. I do this by simply setting the value equal to the above cell:
If I create a new row in between those two, I get this:
As we know, no change in the values, since the reference is not relative in this way. How can I make it relative to the cell, so I always pick the cell above nomatter what is changed? I want the result to be this:
The term relative is wrong in the case of course, but I hope you get my point. I both want the usual relative behavior (so I can move the cell itself and its reference will fit to the new coloumn and row) as well as the behavior that the reference does not point towards a specific fixed coordinate but rather a specific path from the cell itself.
You can address it using the following function:
=INDIRECT(ADDRESS(ROW()-1;COLUMN()))
COLUMN() returns a numeric reference to the current column
ROW() returns a numeric reference to the current row.
In the example here, subtracting 1 from the row gives you the previous row. This math can be applied to the ROW() and/or the COLUMN(), but in answering your question, this formula will reference the cell above.
Then we have ADDRESS() which accepts a numeric row and column reference and returns a cell reference as a string.
Finally INDIRECT() allows you to pass a cell reference in as a string, and it processes it as a formula.
Google Spreadsheets give you help hints as you type, so you should get a full explanation of each function as you type the formula above in.
For anyone who stumbles across this question, you can also specify the column by doing something like this:
=INDIRECT("A" & ROW()-1)
This comes in handy if you are returning values in Column B but checking against the previous row in Column A.
The shortest, and easier for VisiCal old timer is the old RC syntax with relative values…
=INDIRECT("R[-1]C[0]"; FALSE)
Very visual, simple code template to remember and modify, and very short.
Regards, Antoine
Can't believe I don't know this, but is there a way to avoid repeating a formula in an if statement if the logical test is dependent on it?
i.e.
=IF((SUMIFS formula)=0,"",SUMIFs formula)
I want to replace that SUMIFS function in the false scenario with something short that will tell it to just programmatically repeat the formula it originally tested for. Repeating the formula twice has to have detrimental effects on processing speed. Negligible, maybe, but want to go for best-practices here. Thanks.
You can force an error like #DIV/0! and then use IFERROR, e.g.
=IFERROR(1/(1/SUMIFS_formula),"")
You can assign a Name to a formula and use the Name..............See:
Assigning a name to a formula
Relevant excerpt -
For example, let's suppose we frequently use a formula like:
=SUM(A1:A100)-SUM(B1:B100) and this resides in A101 and is copied across many columns on row 101. It would be better in this case to
create a custom formula that does this in each cell on row 101. Here
is how;
1) Select cell A101 (this is vital).
2) Go to Insert>Name>Define and
in the "Names in workbook" box type: SalesLessCosts
3) Now click in
the "Refers to" box and type: =SUM(A1:A100)-SUM(B1:B100) then click
Add.
Now you can replace the formula in cell A101 with: =SalesLessCosts.
You can also copy this across row 101 and it will change its relative
references just as the formula =SUM(A1:A100)-SUM(B1:B100) would. The
reason it does this is all down to the fact we selected A101 before
going to Insert>Name>Define and used relative references in
=SUM(A1:A100)-SUM(B1:B100) when we added it to the "Refers to" box.
If all you need to do is hide zeroes, there is an easy way:
Select all cells where you wish to hide zeroes
Go into Custom Number Formatting
Set format to "General;General;"
The custom formatting has a structure of [positive numbers];[negative numbers];[zeroes]
By making the last part blank you are effectively hiding zeroes, but showing everything else.
The advantage over conditional formatting is that you can use this on any background.
A neat trick which I sometimes use is to hide the cell value completely by using a custom format of ";;;". This way you can put images inside the cells, like the conditional formatting ones, and not see the value at all.
Try using the SUBSTITUTE function like this :
=SUBSTITUTE( VLOOKUP( H4; $D$5:$E$8; 2; 0 ); $H$1; $I$1 )
Here is an example:
Here the formula I don't want to repeat twice is the VLOOKUP function.
The result of VLOOKUP is a string found in another table (ex : "Green").
I want to check if that string matches a specific string value in $H$1 (here, "Yellow").
If it does, SUBSTITUTE replaces it with$I$1 (the error string you want. Here, "FORBIDDEN").
If it doesn't, it displays the VLOOKUP result string (the normal authorized output, like "Green").
This is useful for me because my actual formula is quite long, so I don't want to write it twice.
I also dont want to use two different cells, because I'm already applying this formula on 10 columns, meaning I should add an extra 10 columns to make it work.
In some scenarios, MAX() or MIN() can do a wonderful job.
E.g., something like this:
=IF(SUMIFSformula>0,SUMIFSformula, 0)
Can be shortened to this:
=MAX(0,SUMIFSformula)
The LET formula can be used for this exact scenario. You can define the formula as a variable and then within that same cell you can reference the variable in your formula.
The LET formula format looks like this:
=LET(name,name_value,calculation)
SUMIFS Example
Here's how it would work with your SUMIF example so that you don't have to repeat the formula:
In this screenshot we have an array A1:B7. We want to sum the values (Col B) if the name in ColA is "apple".
For this we have a standard SUMIFS formula of
=SUMIFS(B1:B7,A1:A7,"apple")
The formula is showing in E2. The result is shown in E3.
To put this into the IF statement without having to repeat the formula we can use LET as shown in the screenshot.
We create a variable with the SUMIFS formula as the value of that variable. We then write our IF statement using the variable name instead of rewriting the formula multiple times.
=LET(name,name_value,calculation)
Variable name: sumapples
Variable value: SUMIFS(B1:B7,A1:A7,"apple")
Calculation: IF(sumapples=0,"",sumapples)
Put together in the LET function it looks like this:
=LET(sumapples,SUMIFS(B1:B7,A1:B7,"apple"),IF(sumapples=0,"",sumapples))
This LET function can be used in any Excel formula, and is very useful for shortening long formulas that have repetition.
Optional: Extra complexity
If you want to you can get extra complicated by naming multiple variables.
=LET(name,name_value,name2,name_value2,calculation)
Since Excel 2007, the IFERROR statement does what the OP asked. From the help file:
Description:
Returns a value you specify if a formula evaluates to an error; otherwise, returns the result of the formula. [italics mine]
Syntax:
IFERROR(value, value_if_error)
I've since realised that this was already answered by #barry houdini above.
Here is a hack - depending on whether you are just interested in the displayed value, or whether you need to use the value in another formula:
Put your SUMIF formula in the cell (without the IF part)
Create a conditional formatting rule which sets the font color to the background color when the cell value is 0
And hey presto, you get the desired result.
As I said - it's a hack, but it does prevent the double evaluation.
There is no "clean" solution that I am aware of.