Hello:

It is an array formula, the brackets are added by Excel when you enter
the formula by using <shift<cntrl<enter.

You can read about array formulas in the help file.

Pieter Vandenberg

BedeviledByBrackets wrote:
: What do { } brackets mean when they encompass a function?

: The following function, which works when the spreadsheet is opened, is in a
: spreadsheet I inherited. If you arrow onto the cell containing this function
: it shows up just as shown below:

: {=SUM(IF(H$8:H$27="+",$F$8:$F$27,0))}

: once the cell containing the function is doubleclicked the, the function
: then looks like: =SUM(IF(H$8:H$27="+",$F$8:$F$27,0))
: and when 'enter' is pressed the cell reads: #VALUE!

: If the same cell is double-clicked to go into edit mode and the brackets are
: added at the front and rear of the function, just as shown above, after
: 'enter' is pressed the cell reads: =SUM(IF(H$8:H$27="-",$F$8:$F$27,0))

: I've used various functions quite a bit, but have never seen this before.