# How do I get a formula to actually compute in Excel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 11, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-a-formula-to-actually-compute-in-excel/472199 "2008-11-11T16:14:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-a-formula-to-actually-compute-in-excel/472199/21 "2008-11-12T01:19:12Z")
WAG - the Mac version of Excel uses semi-colons? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-a-formula-to-actually-compute-in-excel/472199/22 "2008-11-12T01:24:27Z")
> [@K364](#): > > WAG - the Mac version of Excel uses semi-colons? Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-a-formula-to-actually-compute-in-excel/472199/23 "2008-11-12T01:31:05Z")
Corel Quattro Pro does, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![WCStyles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7cd45c/32.png) [@WCStyles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WCStyles)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-a-formula-to-actually-compute-in-excel/472199/24 "2008-11-12T03:34:32Z")
OpenOffice Calc uses semicolons, too. Took me a while to get used to when I switched from Excel a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-a-formula-to-actually-compute-in-excel/472199/25 "2008-11-12T05:39:11Z")
It depends on the Windows Regional Settings in the control panel. More specifically, it’s the “list separator” option. For some countries the default setting is the semicolon and this affects Excel too. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-a-formula-to-actually-compute-in-excel/472199/26 "2008-11-12T14:08:51Z")
I contacted the author of the site. He fixed the errors in his sample spreadsheet, but said that he didn’t get the same errors I did when he viewed the page. I.e. when he viewed the page, it showed commas, not semicolons. Then, I tried something. I used IE to see the page instead of AOL, which is what I usually use to browse the net. Bingo, the commas were there. I don’t know anything about the coding, protocols, or anything else technical that would explain what’s happening, but I am now aware that IE seems to translate some things on a website more accurately for some reason. Thanks to all. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-a-formula-to-actually-compute-in-excel/472199/27 "2008-11-12T14:14:07Z")
> [@Dog80](#): > > It depends on the Windows Regional Settings in the control panel. More specifically, it’s the “list separator” option. For some countries the default setting is the semicolon and this affects Excel too. Ooh, now _there’s_ some useful information! Time to go prank some other analysts … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-a-formula-to-actually-compute-in-excel/472199.md?page=1)