Built-in Functions: Information
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The ExpressSpreadSheet function repository automatically registers all function signatures listed in the both tables below. Each signature has a corresponding function in Microsoft Excel® under the “Information“ category. These functions are designed to return the status of a cell or its content, that is, to check if a value or cell reference meets a specific criteria, such as “the parameter value is even” or “the parameter value contains text”, etc.
All function signatures marked as “Implemented”, are ready for use in formula expressions. The ExpressSpreadSheet formula engine uses “unimplemented” function signatures only to ensure compatibility with Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet documents that can contain the corresponding functions. You can add implementations to such “empty” signatures and override existing implementations as the “How to Create Custom Functions“ topic describes.
The first table lists signatures of those Information functions that accept only a single mandatory parameter that can be either a value or cell reference, and return a Boolean result.
No. | Function | Implemented | XLS Token | Syntax | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. |
ISBLANK | Yes | 129 | =ISBLANK(Parameter) | Returns TRUE if the Parameter is a reference to an empty cell; otherwise – FALSE. To localize the ISBLANK function’s name and short description, use the sfnIsBlank and sfnIsBlankDescription resource strings. |
2. |
ISERR | Yes | 126 | =ISERR(Parameter) | Returns TRUE if the Parameter is any error except #N/A; otherwise – FALSE. To localize the ISERR function’s name and short description, use the sfnIsErr and sfnIsErrDescription resource strings. |
3. |
ISEVEN | Yes | 255 | =ISEVEN(Parameter) | Returns TRUE if the Parameter value is even; otherwise – FALSE. To localize the ISEVEN function’s name and short description, use the sfnIsEven and sfnIsEvenDescription resource strings. |
4. |
ISERROR | Yes | 3 | =ISERROR(Parameter) | Returns TRUE if the Parameter refers to an expression that evaluates to any error value; otherwise – FALSE. To localize the ISERROR function’s name and short description, use the sfnIsError and sfnIsErrorDescription resource strings. |
5. |
ISFORMULA | No | 255 | =ISFORMULA(Parameter) | Returns TRUE if the Parameter value is a formula expression text or a reference (or a defined name) to a cell with a parsed formula expression; otherwise – FALSE. The ISFORMULA function returns the #VALUE! error code if the Parameter value has an incorrect data type. To localize the ISFORMULA function’s name and short description, use the sfnIsFormula and sfnIsFormulaDescription resource strings. |
6. |
ISLOGICAL | Yes | 198 | =ISLOGICAL(Parameter) | Returns TRUE if the Parameter is a Boolean value; otherwise – FALSE. To localize the ISLOGICAL function’s name and short description, use the sfnIsLogical and sfnIsLogicalDescription resource strings. |
7. |
ISNA | Yes | 2 | =ISNA(Parameter) | Returns TRUE if the Parameter value is the #N/A error code; otherwise – FALSE. To localize the ISNA function’s name and short description, use the sfnIsNA and sfnIsNADescription resource strings. |
8. |
ISNONTEXT | Yes | 190 | =ISNONTEXT(Parameter) | Returns TRUE if the Parameter value is not a text string; otherwise – FALSE. To localize the ISNONTEXT function’s name and short description, use the sfnIsNonText and sfnIsNonTextDescription resource strings. |
9. |
ISNUMBER | Yes | 128 | =ISNUMBER(Parameter) | Returns TRUE if the Parameter is a numeric value; otherwise – FALSE. To localize the ISNUMBER function’s name and short description, use the sfnIsNumber and sfnIsNumberDescription resource strings. |
10. |
ISTEXT | Yes | 127 | =ISTEXT(Parameter) | Returns TRUE if the Parameter value is a text string; otherwise – FALSE. To localize the ISTEXT function’s name and short description, use the sfnIsText and sfnIsTextDescription resource strings. |
11. |
ISODD | Yes | 255 | =ISODD(Parameter) | Returns TRUE if the Parameter value is odd; otherwise – FALSE. To localize the ISODD function’s name and short description, use the sfnIsOdd and sfnIsOddDescription resource strings. |
12. |
ISREF | Yes | 105 | =ISREF(Parameter) | Returns TRUE if the Parameter value is a reference to a cell or cell range; otherwise – FALSE. To localize the ISREF function’s name and short description, use the sfnIsRef and sfnIsRefDescription resource strings. |
The next table lists all remaining Information function signatures. The Syntax column lists each optional function parameter in square bracket.
No. | Function | Implemented | XLS Token | Parameters | Syntax | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
13. |
CELL | No | 125 | TextRequest is the only mandatory parameter that accepts a single keyword (in quotation marks) from the predefined list. The optional Reference parameter accepts a reference to the target cell. If you specify a reference to a cell range, the CELL function treats the upper-left cell as a target. | =CELL(TextRequest, [Reference]) | Returns information on a cell’s status, depending on the specified text request (a single supported keyword in quotation marks). The keyword list includes:
The CELL function returns the #N/A error code if it accepts a keyword that is not on the supported list. To localize the CELL function’s name and short description, use the sfnCell and sfnCellDescription resource strings. |
14 |
ERROR.TYPE | 261 | ErrorCode is the only mandatory parameter. | =ERROR.TYPE(ErrorCode) | Returns the sequence number of the specified error code. The ERROR.TYPE function returns the #N/A error code if the specified value is not a supported error code. Note that the current implementation of the ExpressSpreadSheet formula engine does not support the #GETTING_DATA error code whose sequence number is 8 in Microsoft Excel®. To localize the ERROR.TYPE function’s name and short description, use the sfnError_Type and sfnError_TypeDescription resource strings. | |
15 |
INFO | 244 | TextRequest is the only mandatory parameter that accepts a keyword from the predefined list. | =INFO(TextRequest) | Returns information on the current operating environment, depending on the specified text request (a single supported keyword in quotation marks). The keyword list includes:
The INFO function returns the #N/A error code if it accepts a keyword that is not on the supported list. To localize the INFO function’s name and short description, use the sfnInfo and sfnInfoDescription resource strings. | |
16. |
N | Yes | 131 | Value is the only mandatory parameter; it can be any value that the ExpressSpreadSheet formula engine supports. | =N(Value) | Explicitly converts the specified value into a number. The N function converts:
In addition, the function returns the specified error codes and numeric values as is. To localize the N function’s name and short description, use the sfnN and sfnNDescription resource strings. |
17. |
NA | Yes | 10 | The NA function accepts no parameters. | =NA() | Returns the #N/A error code. Alternatively, you can type #N/A into a cell without quotation marks. The NA function is designed for use in spreadsheet applications that do not support this approach. To localize the NA function’s name and short description, use the sfnNA and sfnNADescription resource strings. |
18. |
SHEET | No | 255 | The only optional Value parameter accepts a worksheet’s name or cell reference. The SHEET function returns the serial number of the worksheet at which the formula expression is located if you omit the parameter. | =SHEET([Value]) | Returns the worksheet number by the specified name or cell reference. The SHEET function returns:
To localize the SHEET function’s name and short description, use the sfnSheet and sfnSheetDescription resource strings. |
19. |
SHEETS | No | 255 | The only optional Reference parameter accepts a reference. The SHEETS function returns the total number of worksheets in the loaded spreadsheet document if you omit the parameter. | =SHEETS([Reference]) | Returns the number of referred worksheets. This function is designed to identify the number of referred sheets in a 3D reference. Note that the current implementation of the ExpressSpreadSheet formula engine does not support 3D references. The SHEETS function returns the #REF! error code if it accepts an invalid cell reference. To localize the SHEETS function’s name and short description, use the sfnSheets and sfnSheetsDescription resource strings. |
20. |
TYPE | No | 86 | The Parameter accepts any value that the ExpressSpreadSheet formula engine supports. | =TYPE(Parameter) | Returns the numeric code of the specified value’s data type. This function can be useful to identify the type of a value returned by another function or expression. The TYPE function returns:
To localize the TYPE function’s name and short description, use the sfnType and sfnTypeDescription resource strings. |