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Excel Errors

Microsoft Excel is the most widely used spreadsheet application. Its features include calculation and graphing tools. It is especially useful in the office and for those who need to do inventory.

But, just like any other software, when using the application you are also most likely to encounter some Excel errors. Most excel errors occur in the worksheet cell. When one is found, a triangle appears in the top left corner of the cell. You may try to fix them or ignore the errors and they will stop appearing in error checks in the future. However, previously ignored errors may be reset so that they will appear again.

So, what are these errors and how do you get rid of them?

Cells with formulas are likely to contain errors. These excel errors maybe because it does not use the expected syntax, argument or data types. A #DIV/0!, #N/A, #NAME?, #NULL!, #NUM!, #REF!, and #VALUE! may appear on the cell. These errors have different causes and different ways to get them solved.

A “#DIV/0!” error occurs when you divide a number by zero. In a calculator, this also returns an error value.

Another in the list of common excel errors is the “#N/A”. This results from a missing data and thus, this message appears in its place. To get rid of the error, try replacing #N/A with a new data.

The “#NAME?” occurs because excel does not recognize text in a formula. It may also be because of a misspelled function name.

“#NULL!” appears when an incorrect range or operator is used or if the ranges do not intersect. If the cells are in range, you may refer to them using the first cell reference and the last cell reference with a semicolon in between. Example: SUM(A1:A20). If they are not in range, you can separate them using a comma. Example: SUM(A20:A25, B31:B45).

A “#NUM!” error appears when an invalid numeric value is used in a function or formula. To avoid this, try to enter numbers without formatting like omitting the currency sign or any other symbol attached to the number. Excel errors like these happen because excel does not recognize text, only the numbers.

A cell reference is invalid when a “#REF!” appears.

The “#VALUE!” happens when the wrong argument or operand is used. If you have mistakenly added a text and a number, then this error appears. Example: “=A3+A7” where A3 is “zero” and A7 is “8”.

Another way to avoid Excel errors due to formulas is to make sure that opening and closing parentheses match.

Microsoft Excel actually has an error checker which functions much like a spelling checker and scans formulas one at a time for ay mistakes. This can be found in the Formula menu, under the Error Checking group. You now have the option to either edit the formula or ignore the error.

Other common excel errors include DLL errors. Some applications in Microsoft Excel are implemented through the DLL code. Other programs may also be using the same DLL code as what MS Excel does. If at one time, you have deleted that program and also included shared DLLs, there is a possibility that some functions in Excel will not run.

To resolve this, the most common thing to do is to look for the missing DLL files. The most common ones are readily available through the Internet and are free. If such excel errors do not disappear when you install the missing DLL files, you may try to reregister Excel by using the Run command and typing “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Excel.exe /regserver”.

The last resort to rid of these types of Excel errors would be to uninstall and reinstall Excel in your computer.