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You are learning Error Handling in MS Excel

How to use error handling to improve the reliability of your Excel spreadsheets?

Error handling in Excel is a powerful technique to make your spreadsheets more robust and reliable. Here's how it can improve your work:

1. Prevents Incorrect Results: Formulas can break due to various reasons like typos in cell references, missing data, or incompatible data formats. Error handling functions like `IFERROR` or `ISERROR` can identify these errors and display a custom message or a default value (e.g., "0" or "Data Not Found") instead of the error code itself. This keeps your spreadsheet functional and avoids confusion.

2. Improves Data Integrity: Imagine a formula that calculates an average but encounters a text entry in the range. By default, you'll get a #VALUE! error. Error handling allows you to gracefully handle such situations. You can use functions like `SUMIF` or `AVERAGEIF` to only consider numerical values, ensuring a more accurate representation of the average.

3. User-Friendly Spreadsheets: Error messages like #DIV/0! or #N/A! can be cryptic for users unfamiliar with Excel. Error handling lets you display custom messages explaining the error in plain English. This improves user experience and helps them understand what went wrong and how to fix it.

4. Streamlines Troubleshooting: If errors occur, identifying the root cause can be time-consuming. Error handling functions can pinpoint the exact cell causing the issue. For instance, `ISNA` can identify cells with #N/A errors, allowing you to focus your efforts on those specific cells.

Here are some common error handling functions in Excel:

* IFERROR: Checks for an error and displays a custom message or a default value if an error occurs.
* ISERROR: Checks if a cell contains any error.
* ISNA: Checks if a cell contains the #N/A error.
* ISNUMBER: Checks if a cell contains a number.
* SUMIF/AVERAGEIF: Calculates sum or average based on a specific criteria, excluding errors.

By incorporating error handling functions into your formulas, you can create more reliable spreadsheets that are less prone to errors and easier to understand for everyone who uses them.

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