Don,
Thanks for the info, have worked this into a solution. It has also led me to
the COUNTBLANK function which is very useful for returning a value if a cell
is empty or has an input. This value can then be used as a logic value for
comparison.

"Don Guillett" wrote:

Clarification
=IF(LEN(TRIM(H17))<1,"blank","notblank")

--
Don Guillett
Microsoft MVP Excel
SalesAid Software

"Don Guillett" wrote in message
...
=IF(LEN(TRIM(H17))<1,"no","yes")

--
Don Guillett
Microsoft MVP Excel
SalesAid Software

"Tim Turner" wrote in message
...
i have a spreadsheet to compare inputed predicted and actual values
(football
scores that are predicted against actual results) and return a score.
Excel
appears to treat an empty cell as a zero value, how can an empty cell be
flagged as "empty" and prevent the calclation taking place untill a value
is
entered.

Any help gratefully accepted