Excel function · Logic
ISERROR
TRUE when a value or calculation is any error.
What it does
ISERROR returns TRUE when its argument is an error of any kind (#DIV/0!, #N/A, #VALUE! and so on) and FALSE otherwise. It is useful to flag rows that fail; to replace an error with another value, IFERROR is shorter.
Syntax
=ISERROR(value)Arguments in square brackets are optional, and … means you can add more of the same. In this Excel language, arguments are separated by ,
Arguments
- value
- The cell or calculation to check, such as
B2/C2.
Example
Pens have 0 units. Does dividing their cost by their units fail?
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Item | Cost | Units | Fails? |
| 2 | Pens | 12 | 0 | TRUE |
The formula in D2:
=ISERROR(B2/C2)Result: TRUE
12 divided by 0 gives #DIV/0!, which is an error, so the result is TRUE.
Common mistakes
- Writing
IF(ISERROR(x),0,x)and repeating the calculation.IFERROR(x,0)does the same once. - Hiding errors you should fix. A #N/A from a misspelled lookup value is worth seeing.
In other Excel languages
Excel translates function names, and in some languages the argument separator too. Type the name your Excel shows.
| Excel language | Function name | Separator |
|---|---|---|
| English | ISERROR | , |
| Deutsch | ISTFEHLER | ; |
| Français | ESTERREUR | ; |
| Español (España) | ESERROR | ; |
| Español (México) | ESERROR | , |
| 日本語 | ISERROR | , |
| 한국어 | ISERROR | , |
| 繁體中文 | ISERROR | , |
| ไทย | ISERROR | , |
| ខ្មែរ | ISERROR | , |
| Tiếng Việt | ISERROR | ; |