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8 Ways to Use the Excel IFERROR Function and Improve Your Spreadsheet

The IFERROR helps you improve your Excel spreadsheet tenfold

5 min. read

Published onJune 19, 2024

published onJune 19, 2024

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Excel’s IFERROR function is a lifesaver when it comes to handling errors in your spreadsheets. Whether you’re dealing with division by zero, missing data, or lookup failures, IFERROR can help keep your data clean and user-friendly. Here are some practical examples and easy steps to master the IFERROR function in Excel.

How do I use the Excel IFERROR function?

1. Basic Use of IFERROR

Using this function, if there’s an error in the calculation,Error in calculationwill be displayed instead. This helps avoid displaying the raw error to users, making your spreadsheet look cleaner.

2. Using IFERROR with VLOOKUP

With this formula, if the lookup value isn’t found,Not foundwill be displayed instead of the#N/Aerror. This is useful when you want to provide a more user-friendly message when a lookup fails.

3. Handling multiple errors

This formula will replace any error in the range with 0 before summing, thus preventing the overall SUM function from failing.

4. Suppressing Division by Zero errors

By using this formula, if B1 is zero, the function will return 0 instead of the#DIV/0!error. This is useful in avoiding disruptions in calculations due to division by zero.

5. Requesting user input before calculation

This formula displays a custom message prompting the user to input a value instead of showing a calculation error. It ensures that users are aware of missing inputs needed for accurate calculations.

6. Nesting multiple IFERROR functions

This formula will checkSheet1first, and if the value is not found, it will proceed to checkSheet2. If it’s still not found,Not foundwill be displayed. This ensures all possible sources are checked before concluding the value is missing.

7. Using IFNA for specific errors

By using IFNA, only the #N/A errors will be caught and handled, while other errors will still be displayed. This is useful when you want to distinguish between different types of errors in your data.

8. Summing while ignoring errors

This will ensure that errors within the range are treated as 0, allowing the SUM function to calculate correctly without being interrupted by errors.

By mastering the IFERROR function, you can make your Excel spreadsheets more robust and user-friendly. Remember to always validate your data inputs and consider using data validation rules to prevent errors from occurring in the first place.

8 Ways to Use the Excel IFERROR Function and Improve Your Spreadsheet#

How do I use the Excel IFERROR function?#

1. Basic Use of IFERROR#

2. Using IFERROR with VLOOKUP#

3. Handling multiple errors#

4. Suppressing Division by Zero errors#

5. Requesting user input before calculation#

6. Nesting multiple IFERROR functions#

7. Using IFNA for specific errors#

8. Summing while ignoring errors#