Microsoft KB Archive/63165

Mac Works: SSum Function Returns Incorrect Results

PSS ID Number: Q63165 Article last modified on 10-22-1998

1.1 2.0 3.0 4.0

MACINTOSH

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= SUMMARY =

The Microsoft Works Spreadsheet SSum function works correctly only when a range is specified in at least one of the arguments. If a range is not specified, the SSum function acts the same way the Sum function does.

When the SSum function encounters an argument that is not a range, it skips over the argument’s precision and uses the precision of the first range it encounters. As a result, SSum will not always give the same precision as is displayed. Depending on how the spreadsheet is set up, this behavior of SSum may cause apparent errors in some calculations.

For example, if 1.234 is typed in cells A1, A2, and A3, but they are formatted to display the numbers as follows

|   A   | 1 | 1.2 | 2 | 1.23 | 3 | 1.234 |

the following results will be returned

=SSum(A1,A2) will return 2.468 since no range is specified.

=SSum(A1:A2) will return 2.43, since a range is specified and cell A2 is formatted to display two decimal places.

=SSum(A1:A2,A3) will return 3.66, since SSum(A1:A2) = 2.43 and the function uses the precision of the first range encountered to determine how many decimals to display.

=SSum(A1,A2:A3) will return 3.698, since SSum(A2:A3) = 2.464 and the function uses the precision of the first range encountered to determine how many decimals to display.

NOTE: The SSum function is a spreadsheet function and does not work in a database.

KBCategory: kbother KBSubcategory: macworkskb

= Additional reference words: 1.10 2.00 3.00 mwksss formula 4.00 =

Version : 1.1 2.0 3.0 4.0 Platform : MACINTOSH Issue type : kbinfo ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1998.