Hi everyone,

Someone wrote this function in a workbook that I am asked to describe:
=IF(+I4991="","",+I4991)

Can anyone explain why it should contain these + characters? What is the
difference compared to: =IF(I4991="","",I4991)?

Thank you,
Cooz

There is no difference: the + sign is redundant (throw-back to older
spreadsheet packages).

Hope this helps.

Pete

On Apr 15, 11:28*am, Cooz wrote:
Hi everyone,

Someone wrote this function in a workbook that I am asked to describe:
=IF(+I4991="","",+I4991)

Can anyone explain why it should contain these + characters? What is the
difference compared to: =IF(I4991="","",I4991)?

Thank you,
Cooz

The "+" is extraneous. Harmless, but not necessary.
Believe it's just a legacy habit by ex-Lotus users.
--
Max
Singapore
http://savefile.com/projects/236895
xdemechanik
---
"Cooz" wrote:
Hi everyone,

Someone wrote this function in a workbook that I am asked to describe:
=IF(+I4991="","",+I4991)

Can anyone explain why it should contain these + characters? What is the
difference compared to: =IF(I4991="","",I4991)?

Thank you,
Cooz

Thank you Max.
That is one clear answer.

Cooz

"Max" wrote:

The "+" is extraneous. Harmless, but not necessary.
Believe it's just a legacy habit by ex-Lotus users.
--
Max
Singapore
http://savefile.com/projects/236895
xdemechanik
---
"Cooz" wrote:
Hi everyone,

Someone wrote this function in a workbook that I am asked to describe:
=IF(+I4991="","",+I4991)

Can anyone explain why it should contain these + characters? What is the
difference compared to: =IF(I4991="","",I4991)?

Thank you,
Cooz

It sure does.
Many thanks.

Cooz



"Pete_UK" wrote:

There is no difference: the + sign is redundant (throw-back to older
spreadsheet packages).

Hope this helps.

Pete

On Apr 15, 11:28 am, Cooz wrote:
Hi everyone,

Someone wrote this function in a workbook that I am asked to describe:
=IF(+I4991="","",+I4991)

Can anyone explain why it should contain these + characters? What is the
difference compared to: =IF(I4991="","",I4991)?

Thank you,
Cooz

You're welcome.

Pete

On Apr 15, 11:56*am, Cooz wrote:
It sure does.
Many thanks.

Cooz



"Pete_UK" wrote:
There is no difference: the + sign is redundant (throw-back to older
spreadsheet packages).

Hope this helps.

Pete

On Apr 15, 11:28 am, Cooz wrote:
Hi everyone,

Someone wrote this function in a workbook that I am asked to describe:
=IF(+I4991="","",+I4991)

Can anyone explain why it should contain these + characters? What is the
difference compared to: =IF(I4991="","",I4991)?

Thank you,
Cooz- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

hi
not to seem argumentative, but me and lotus go back to pre-windows days and
i don't remember ever having to put plus signs in front of numbers in
formulas.
i had to put minus signs to denote negative numbers but you have to do that
in excel also.

regards
FSt1

"Max" wrote:

The "+" is extraneous. Harmless, but not necessary.
Believe it's just a legacy habit by ex-Lotus users.
--
Max
Singapore
http://savefile.com/projects/236895
xdemechanik
---
"Cooz" wrote:
Hi everyone,

Someone wrote this function in a workbook that I am asked to describe:
=IF(+I4991="","",+I4991)

Can anyone explain why it should contain these + characters? What is the
difference compared to: =IF(I4991="","",I4991)?

Thank you,
Cooz

But I bet you wrote many formulas like:
+a1+b1

There are lots of old(!) Lotus 123 users who would do:
=+a1+b1
thinking that they need both.

It wasn't required in 123 and it's not required in xl.

FSt1 wrote:

hi
not to seem argumentative, but me and lotus go back to pre-windows days and
i don't remember ever having to put plus signs in front of numbers in
formulas.
i had to put minus signs to denote negative numbers but you have to do that
in excel also.

regards
FSt1

"Max" wrote:

The "+" is extraneous. Harmless, but not necessary.
Believe it's just a legacy habit by ex-Lotus users.
--
Max
Singapore
http://savefile.com/projects/236895
xdemechanik
---
"Cooz" wrote:
Hi everyone,

Someone wrote this function in a workbook that I am asked to describe:
=IF(+I4991="","",+I4991)

Can anyone explain why it should contain these + characters? What is the
difference compared to: =IF(I4991="","",I4991)?

Thank you,
Cooz

--

Dave Peterson

Welcome, Cooz
--
Max
Singapore
http://savefile.com/projects/236895
xdemechanik
---
"Cooz" wrote in message
...
Thank you Max.
That is one clear answer.

Cooz

Excel is inconsistent on this. Put XYZ in A1, then =LEN(A1) in B1.
Then put @LEN(A1) in B2, and +LEN(A1) in B3 - why does it leave the +
sign in the formula in B3?

Pete

On Apr 15, 2:20*pm, Dave Peterson wrote:
But I bet you wrote many formulas like:
+a1+b1

There are lots of old(!) Lotus 123 users who would do:
=+a1+b1
thinking that they need both.

It wasn't required in 123 and it's not required in xl.





FSt1 wrote:

hi
not to seem argumentative, but me and lotus go back to pre-windows days and
i don't remember ever having to put plus signs in front of numbers in
formulas.
i had to put minus signs to denote negative numbers but you have to do that
in excel also.

regards
FSt1

"Max" wrote:

The "+" is extraneous. Harmless, but not necessary.
Believe it's just a legacy habit by ex-Lotus users.
--
Max
Singapore
http://savefile.com/projects/236895
xdemechanik
---
"Cooz" wrote:
Hi everyone,

Someone wrote this function in a workbook that I am asked to describe:
=IF(+I4991="","",+I4991)

Can anyone explain why it should contain these + characters? What is the
difference compared to: =IF(I4991="","",I4991)?

Thank you,
Cooz

--

Dave Peterson- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I don't know why it does, but it does.

But I forgive excel for trying to keep the user's formula as-is.

I don't forgive the user for starting with a + <vbg.

Pete_UK wrote:

Excel is inconsistent on this. Put XYZ in A1, then =LEN(A1) in B1.
Then put @LEN(A1) in B2, and +LEN(A1) in B3 - why does it leave the +
sign in the formula in B3?

Pete

On Apr 15, 2:20 pm, Dave Peterson wrote:
But I bet you wrote many formulas like:
+a1+b1

There are lots of old(!) Lotus 123 users who would do:
=+a1+b1
thinking that they need both.

It wasn't required in 123 and it's not required in xl.





FSt1 wrote:

hi
not to seem argumentative, but me and lotus go back to pre-windows days and
i don't remember ever having to put plus signs in front of numbers in
formulas.
i had to put minus signs to denote negative numbers but you have to do that
in excel also.

regards
FSt1

"Max" wrote:

The "+" is extraneous. Harmless, but not necessary.
Believe it's just a legacy habit by ex-Lotus users.
--
Max
Singapore
http://savefile.com/projects/236895
xdemechanik
---
"Cooz" wrote:
Hi everyone,

Someone wrote this function in a workbook that I am asked to describe:
=IF(+I4991="","",+I4991)

Can anyone explain why it should contain these + characters? What is the
difference compared to: =IF(I4991="","",I4991)?

Thank you,
Cooz

--

Dave Peterson- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

--

Dave Peterson

I used to do it all the time, Dave, when I first started with Excel
(having come from Quattro Pro), and I still do it occasionally now.
<ebg

It would be quite easy for the Excel expression parser to replace =+
with just = when you have pressed the <Enter key.

Pete

On Apr 15, 4:52*pm, Dave Peterson wrote:
I don't know why it does, but it does.

But I forgive excel for trying to keep the user's formula as-is. *

I don't forgive the user for starting with a + <vbg.





Pete_UK wrote:

Excel is inconsistent on this. Put XYZ in A1, then =LEN(A1) in B1.
Then put @LEN(A1) in B2, and +LEN(A1) in B3 - why does it leave the +
sign in the formula in B3?

Pete

Easy to request. Maybe not so easy to implement. Who knows for sure? Well, MS
does. But they never shared anything with me about this!



Pete_UK wrote:

I used to do it all the time, Dave, when I first started with Excel
(having come from Quattro Pro), and I still do it occasionally now.
<ebg

It would be quite easy for the Excel expression parser to replace =+
with just = when you have pressed the <Enter key.

Pete

On Apr 15, 4:52 pm, Dave Peterson wrote:
I don't know why it does, but it does.

But I forgive excel for trying to keep the user's formula as-is.

I don't forgive the user for starting with a + <vbg.





Pete_UK wrote:

Excel is inconsistent on this. Put XYZ in A1, then =LEN(A1) in B1.
Then put @LEN(A1) in B2, and +LEN(A1) in B3 - why does it leave the +
sign in the formula in B3?

Pete

--

Dave Peterson

On Apr 15, 11:02 am, Pete_UK wrote:
I used to do it all the time, Dave, when I first started with Excel
(having come from Quattro Pro), and I still do it occasionally now.
<ebg

It would be quite easy for the Excel expression parser to replace =+
with just = when you have pressed the <Enter key.

Pete

On Apr 15, 4:52 pm, Dave Peterson wrote:

I don't know why it does, but it does.

But I forgive excel for trying to keep the user's formula as-is.

I don't forgive the user for starting with a + <vbg.

Pete_UK wrote:

Excel is inconsistent on this. Put XYZ in A1, then =LEN(A1) in B1.
Then put @LEN(A1) in B2, and +LEN(A1) in B3 - why does it leave the +
sign in the formula in B3?

Pete

Sometimes it does. Bad form to quote yourself? I posted the following
a week ago....


Actually, it's a Windows thing. This doesn't (or at least didn't,
haven't used every Mac version) occur on a Mac, strangely enough.

You can start typing a formula or function with an =, +, or -. It
automatically adds the necessary = at the beginning if you start
typing with a + or -.

If you type a + to start typing in a formula, Win Excel leaves the
plus in there for no apparent reason. Interestingly, if you type a +
followed by numerals, like, "+100+A4", then it does work properly and
the final result is "=100+A4". But if you follow with a reference or a
function, it leaves the extraneous +. So entering "+A4+100" becomes "=
+A4+100".

I think many people use the + because it is on the 10-key portion of
the keyboard, easier to reach than =.

Sometimes I don't care since it is harmless. Sometimes it annoys me
and I do a Replace "=+" with "=".