Microsoft KB Archive/43995

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Excel: Error When Using +, -, @, or = to Start Text in a Cell

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 2.2, 3.0, 4.0

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SUMMARY
In Microsoft Excel version 2.2 and later, a text value cannot start with any of the following symbols:

  Name of Sign       Symbol -     --

Equal sign          = Plus sign           + Minus sign          - At sign             @

If these symbols are used to start a cell, the error message &quot;Error in Formula&quot; will result if the entered information is not a valid formula. This behavior is by program design to provide compatibility with other spreadsheet applications, such as Lotus 1-2-3 and Microsoft Excel for Windows, which use these characters to enter formulas.

To enter a text value beginning with one of the above symbols, use one of the following methods:

Method 1
Precede the text value with a hard space (OPTION+SPACEBAR).

Method 2
Enter the text value preceded by an equal sign (=) and enclose it in quotation marks, as shown in the following example:

  =&quot;+/- 2 Weeks&quot;

MORE INFORMATION
This behavior is different from Microsoft Excel versions 1.5 and earlier, which allows formulas to begin with a &quot;+&quot;, &quot;-&quot;, or an &quot;@&quot;, and treat any cell beginning with one of those symbols as text.

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