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#1
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The '" -- " before a function
What is the name of this symbol and what is it do when placed in front of a
function name. ie. --isnumber........ Thanks |
#2
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The '" -- " before a function
See these:
http://mcgimpsey.com/excel/formulae/doubleneg.html http://xldynamic.com/source/xld.SUMPRODUCT.html Biff "ComicFly" wrote in message ... What is the name of this symbol and what is it do when placed in front of a function name. ie. --isnumber........ Thanks |
#3
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The '" -- " before a function
When you use a Boolean formula (a formula that returns TRUE or FALSE), Excel
returns those values. If the formula returns "numeric text", Excel will treat it AS text. To coerce the conversion from Boolean to Numeric, or from "numeric text" to Numeric, you need to apply an arithmetic operator. The generally accepted convention is to use a double minus sign (--). It works this way: The negative of a value reverses the sign. The negative of that value restores the sign. Example: RIGHT("W1000",4) returns with the *word* "1000" -RIGHT("W1000",4) converts "1000" to the number -1000 --RIGHT("W1000",4) converts the negative number to 1000 In the case of boolean values, the dbl-neg converts TRUE and FALSE to 1 and 0, respectively. You could achieve the same results by multiplying a value by 1, but the dbl-neg indicates to knowledgable users that a "type conversion" is being effected. Does that help? *********** Regards, Ron XL2002, WinXP "ComicFly" wrote: What is the name of this symbol and what is it do when placed in front of a function name. ie. --isnumber........ Thanks |
#4
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The '" -- " before a function
Ron,
Thanks for the great explanation. It makes alot of sense. Comicfly "Ron Coderre" wrote: When you use a Boolean formula (a formula that returns TRUE or FALSE), Excel returns those values. If the formula returns "numeric text", Excel will treat it AS text. To coerce the conversion from Boolean to Numeric, or from "numeric text" to Numeric, you need to apply an arithmetic operator. The generally accepted convention is to use a double minus sign (--). It works this way: The negative of a value reverses the sign. The negative of that value restores the sign. Example: RIGHT("W1000",4) returns with the *word* "1000" -RIGHT("W1000",4) converts "1000" to the number -1000 --RIGHT("W1000",4) converts the negative number to 1000 In the case of boolean values, the dbl-neg converts TRUE and FALSE to 1 and 0, respectively. You could achieve the same results by multiplying a value by 1, but the dbl-neg indicates to knowledgable users that a "type conversion" is being effected. Does that help? *********** Regards, Ron XL2002, WinXP "ComicFly" wrote: What is the name of this symbol and what is it do when placed in front of a function name. ie. --isnumber........ Thanks |
#5
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The '" -- " before a function
Biff,
Thanks for the guidelines / direction on the suggested websites. Comicfly "T. Valko" wrote: See these: http://mcgimpsey.com/excel/formulae/doubleneg.html http://xldynamic.com/source/xld.SUMPRODUCT.html Biff "ComicFly" wrote in message ... What is the name of this symbol and what is it do when placed in front of a function name. ie. --isnumber........ Thanks |
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