Microsoft KB Archive/28984

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Excel: Incorrect Arguments Cause #VALUE! Error Message

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 1.x, 2.2, 3.0, 4.0

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SUMMARY
In Microsoft Excel, &quot;#VALUE!&quot; is displayed in a cell for a formula when the wrong type of argument or operand has been used (for example, using text where Excel requires a number).

The following are examples of incorrect formulas that produce this error value:


 * 1) The following is an incorrect argument:

The formula =C1+1 cannot be evaluated if cell C1 contains the value &quot;a&quot;. In this example, text is used where a number is expected.
 * 1) The following is an incorrect operand:

The formula =&quot;a&quot;+&quot;bc&quot; cannot be evaluated because it does not make sense to add text to text (the addition operator can only act on numbers). The correct formula would use the text operator &quot;&&quot;, as in the following:

=&quot;a&quot;&&quot;bc&quot;

This connects the two text strings together, producing the result &quot;abc.&quot;