Excel ISERROR Function is a handy tool for checking if a cell contains an error and returning a simple TRUE or FALSE value. It’s quite useful for error handling in Excel spreadsheets.
Syntax
ISERROR(value)
Arguments
| value | The value you want to test for an error. This can be a cell reference, a formula, or a constant value. (Required) |
How to use
To use the ISERROR function, follow these simple steps:
- Enter a formula in a cell that might potentially result in an error.
- Use the ISERROR function to check if the formula produces an error. For example:
|
1 |
=ISERROR(A1) |
This formula checks if cell A1 contains an error. If A1 contains an error, it will return TRUE; otherwise, it will return FALSE.
You can also use this function in combination with other Excel functions. For instance, you can use it with the IF function to handle errors gracefully:
|
1 |
=IF(ISERROR(A1), "Error occurred", A1 * 2) |
In this example, if cell A1 contains an error, the formula will display “Error occurred.” If A1 doesn’t contain an error, it will perform the calculation and display the result.
Examples
Here are some examples to illustrate how the ISERROR function works:
| Formula | Result |
| =ISERROR(5/0) | TRUE |
| =ISERROR(A2) | FALSE |
| =IF(ISERROR(B1), “Error”, B1*2) | Error (if B1 contains an error) or the result of the calculation (if B1 is a valid number) |
Additional Information
If you want to handle specific error types, you can use other error-checking functions like ISERR, ISNA, ISBLANK, and IFERROR in Excel. These functions allow you to perform more fine-grained error handling based on the type of error encountered.