Microsoft KB Archive/78278

{| = &quot;Function Is Not Valid,&quot; &quot;Error in Formula&quot; with FLATFILE.XLA =
 * width="100%"|

Last reviewed: November 3, 1994

Article ID: Q78278

SUMMARY
FLATFILE.XLA is an add-in macro included with Microsoft Excel 3.0 that provides a parsing utility. When parsing a file in Excel, you will receive the error message &quot;Function is not Valid&quot; or &quot;Error in Formula&quot; if both of the following conditions are met:


 * 1) A line in the file begins with an @.
 * 2) The option to remove extra blank spaces is selected from the Smart Parse dialog box.

MORE INFORMATION
The @ character has special significance in Lotus 1-2-3. It precedes each formula, acting similarly to Excel's equal sign. If you attempt to enter the @ character into the first position of a cell in Excel, you will receive the message &quot;Function is not Valid&quot; unless the character is followed by a valid Excel formula, in which case Excel converts the @ character to an equal sign. For example, if you enter

@SUM(B1:B2) it is converted to: =SUM(B1:B2) This behavior is consistent whether Alternative Navigation Keys has been selected or not. To enter the @ character plus a string (other than a valid formula) into a cell, you must use the format =&quot;@string&quot; so that Excel does not attempt to evaluate the contents.

The parsing problems with FLATFILE.XLA (described above) occur when attempting to parse strings that begin with the @ character. A &quot;Function is not Valid&quot; message is returned if a text string follows the @ character. An &quot;Error in Formula&quot; message occurs if the @ character is followed by a numeric value or a text string is preceded by at least one space.

Workarounds
  The following steps will remove all occurrences of the @ character in the text file. a. Select the data to be parsed. b. From the Formula menu, choose Replace. c. Type @ in the Find What box, and leave the Replace With box blank. d. Select Replace All. -or-  Do not select the option to remove extra blank spaces from the Smart Parse dialog box.