general question about formula 2

[eHanSolo]

hi there,

I've seen people enter the following. Can anyone tell me why they add the '+' bit?? I can't seem to figure out the significance of this.

so a cell would contain something like:

=+A1

thanks for looking/helping!

e

 

[AnotherHiggins]

Is this in a macro, or just in a worksheet?

Notice that you have posted in the VBA Visual Basic for Applications (Microsoft) Forum.

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Help us help you. Please read FAQ181-2886 before posting.

 

[PHV]

why they add the '+' bit
Probably to force a numeric evaluation of A1 ?

Hope This Helps, PH.
Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884 or FAQ181-2886

 

[Alcar]

when you type +A1+A2 in the formula bar, Excel will automatically add the = in front to make sure you are writing an expression and not only text....

even tho the + will suffice, Excel still adds the =

have fun!

Daren J. Lahey
Programmer Analyst
FAQ183-874 contains Suggestions for Getting Quick and Appropriate Answers to your questions.

 

[eHanSolo]

thanks for all your help


e

 

[xlbo]

It is a legacy from Lotus123

In Lotus, the prefix for a formula was +
In excel it is =
But MS decided to allow either so that ex Lotus users would still be able to work in the same way (and so that Lotus spreadsheets could be loaded into excel and still work)

Rgds, Geoff

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Please read FAQ222-2244 before you ask a question

 

[firefytr]

Some also do it as a coercion factor, such as when dealing with boolean (true/false) values, as True will evaluate to 1 and False will evaluate to 0 (in the worksheet environment, not so in the VBA environment).

You can also think of it as stating an implication, as the number (reference) is assumed to be positive (unless otherwise shown by the specific referenced value), meaning it's not coerced into being a negative (or reversed positive, whichever the case may be).

Regards,
Zack Barresse

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