A bug in 1-2-3?


Q I think I've found a bug in 1-2-3's @if function. Here's a formula I use:

@if(B1="Sold","Yes","No")

This formula checks the contents of Cell B1, and if it contains the word "Sold", the formula returns Yes; otherwise it returns No. The formula works fine, except that it also returns Yes when Cell B1 is empty. Do you know why?

û Michelle Odes

A The formula is actually working the way it should ù 1-2-3 equates both text and blank cells to 0. Therefore, an empty cell is equivalent to any text.

One way to avoid this problem is to use a nested @if function that will first check to see if the cell is blank, then check the contents of the cell. The formula below returns No if the cell is empty; otherwise, it checks for the text "Sold":

@if(B1="","No",@if(B1="Sold","Yes","No"))

û John Walkenbach


Category:spreadsheet
Issue: October 1998

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