Microsoft KB Archive/214366

= XL2000: Faulty Zero Value When You Fill Linear Trend Series =

Article ID: 214366

Article Last Modified on 10/8/2003

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q214366





SYMPTOMS
When you fill a linear trend series in a worksheet in Microsoft Excel, the series may contain a value similar to either of the following:    2.84217E-14 -or-   -1.70530E-13 One of these values appears where you expect to see a zero value. For example, if you expect the linear trend series to appear as follows   100   75   50   25   0             -25   -50 it appears as follows:   100   75   50   25   2.84217E-14   -25   -50



CAUSE
This problem may occur if both of the following conditions are true:
 * The linear trend series should contain the value zero (0).

-and-
 * You are using the right mouse button to create the linear trend series.

Specifically, this problem results from a rounding error that occurs in Microsoft Excel when you work with near-zero values.



WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, clear the cell that contains the incorrect value and type a zero (0) in the cell.

To prevent this problem from occurring, follow these steps:
 * 1) Select all the cells to be used by the series.
 * 2) On the Edit menu, click Fill, and then click Series.

The problem does not occur when you use this method to fill a linear trend series.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.



Example of the Problem
In Microsoft Excel, you can create a linear trend series in which each value is separated from the next value in the series by a set amount. To do this and see an example of the problem, follow these steps:   Type the values that you want to use to establish the series. For example:      A1: 100 A2: 75  Select the cells. Right-click the fill handle at the lower-right corner of cell A2. Drag the fill handle down to cell A9, and then release the mouse button.</li> On the shortcut menu, click Linear Trend.</li></ol>

You should see the following values: <pre class="fixed_text">  A1: 100 A2: 75 A3: 50 A4: 25 A5: 2.84217E-14 A6: -25 A7: -50 A8: -75 A9: -100 Each value in the series is 25 less than the preceding value.

Note that the value in cell A5 is incorrect. Although it is very close to zero (0.0000000000000284217), it is not actually zero.

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