ISNUMBER
Return TRUE when a value is numeric rather than text.
Syntax
ISNUMBER(value)| Argument | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
value | Required | The value to test, usually a cell reference. |
Examples
Every example below was executed against VisiGrid engine 0.35.0 — not
transcribed from another vendor's documentation. Reproduce any of them with vgrid calc.
| Formula | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
=ISNUMBER(10) | TRUE | |
=ISNUMBER("10") | FALSE | Quoted, it is text that looks numeric — the distinction this function exists for. |
=ISNUMBER(A1) | TRUE | |
=ISNUMBER(A2) | FALSE | A2 holds text. |
The diagnosis for a column that will not add up
When SUM over an obviously numeric column returns something too small, the
cause is nearly always numbers stored as text. ISNUMBER on a sample cell is
the fastest way to find out:
=ISNUMBER(A2) → FALSEThat is the whole diagnosis. VALUE is the fix, and
the six causes of a failing lookup covers where
else it shows up.
Errors are not numbers
ISNUMBER of a cell containing #DIV/0! returns FALSE, not an error — the
test does not propagate what it is testing. That makes it safe to use as a guard,
though ISERROR is the more direct way to ask.
Excel compatibility
Matches Excel.