formula construction

[Robert-the-Bruce]

Some people use only the = sign and some use =+ why would one want to put a +
sign infront of a value? Does this force negative values to positive?

 

[Mike H]

Prefixing with a minus would give the ABS of a negative number.

Say B1 had a value of -5 and in A1 we put the formula =-B1
This would return an answer of 5 because minus/minus is plus

Putting =+B1 in A1 would return -5 following the same math rule noted above.

Mike

 

[Robert-the-Bruce]

I figured as much for the - and - issue. What if you are not sure of the
number that will be in the reference cell, and then want the absolute value?
If for example if you had varying data or a formula in B1. You would then not
know whether to put a + or - in A1.
I know this detracts form the original question slightly - just thought it
interesting.

 

[Mike H]

There's no need to put a sign there at all so the question doesn't really
arise. If you are unsure if a cell is positive/negative and you want the
absolute value whichever it is then it's better to use =ABS(B1).

Mike

 

[Robert-the-Bruce]

Excellent thanks
--
Regards
Rob

There's no need to put a sign there at all so the question doesn't really
arise. If you are unsure if a cell is positive/negative and you want the
absolute value whichever it is then it's better to use =ABS(B1).

Mike

 

[Stan Brown]

Fri, 8 Jun 2007 03:34:02 -0700 from Robert-the-Bruce

Some people use only the = sign and some use =+ why would one want to put a +
sign infront of a value? Does this force negative values to positive?

No. The leading plus sign has no effect on a numeric argument.

People don't necessarily always do things in the most efficient way.
Sometimes a textbook will do something silly, and then the people who
learned from the textbook follow that 'rule'.

I'm not saying there's never any use for a leading + sign, right
after the = sign, but I sure can't think of one.

 

[Stan Brown]

Fri, 8 Jun 2007 05:09:04 -0700 from Robert-the-Bruce

I figured as much for the - and - issue. What if you are not sure of the
number that will be in the reference cell, and then want the absolute value?
If for example if you had varying data or a formula in B1. You would then not
know whether to put a + or - in A1.

=abs(B1)

The Insert Function command is your friend when you don't know the
name of the function you want.

 

[JMB]

The plus is from the days of Lotus. When you enter the leading +, excel puts
in the = sign itself. Originally intended to make it easy to transition
users away from Lotus and some folks never broke the habit.