# Urgent - MS Excel Question
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 4, 2003, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575 "2003-06-04T12:53:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/1 "2003-06-04T12:53:49Z")
Here’s my problem.
I have a spreadsheet with certain cells dividing other cells by yet further cells - e.g. :
a14 = a15 / a16.
The problem arises when a16 = 0. I get one of those “#DIV!0” jobbies in a14. Now, to me this is no problem - I understand where it’s coming from - however, my boss is not one of the Digerati, and so thinks “it looks like it’s broken”.
So I want to hide the “#DIV!0” without changing the formula. I have tried coditional formatting a14, but that doesn’t work. The problem is that the cell actually reads “a15 / a16” but what _appears_ is “#DIV!0” - so I can’t set it to ignore “#DIV!0” because the PC knows that the cell _actually_ reads “a15 / a16”…
What can I do? Someone please help as I have to email this sheet to someone in about 2 hours…
Thanks…
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### Author:  [@dootsie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dootsie)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/2 "2003-06-04T12:59:30Z")
Finally, a question that caused me to delurk!
Two ways:
=if(a16=0,"",a15/a16)
or, more elegantly,
=if(iserror(a15/a16),"",a15/a16)
which will supress any errors.
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### Author:  [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/3 "2003-06-04T12:59:51Z")
Use the following formula in a14:
=If(A16=0,“Insert some text here to explain what has happened”, A15/A16)
Grim
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### Author:  [@tastycorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tastycorn)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/4 "2003-06-04T12:59:57Z")
I got ya, hold on a sec…
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### Author:  [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/5 "2003-06-04T13:02:29Z")
Dootsie, while I try your suggstion, what the hell is “delurk” ??
Just wondering… It sounds like something that happens when you’re eating a sandwich and you laugh really hard…
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### Author:  [@tastycorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tastycorn)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/6 "2003-06-04T13:03:34Z")
Dammitt.
Oh well, I second Dootsie.
=IF(ISERROR(A1/B1),0,A1/B1)
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### Author:  [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/7 "2003-06-04T13:05:37Z")
Beaten to the punch - and more elegantly!!
🙂 Grim
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### Author:  [@dootsie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dootsie)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/8 "2003-06-04T13:06:48Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Tarantula \*
> \*\*Dootsie, while I try your suggstion, what the hell is “delurk” ??
>
> Just wondering… It sounds like something that happens when you’re eating a sandwich and you laugh really hard… \*\*
Nothing as painful! I just meant that rather than lurking around reading everyone’s posts, I finally registered and posted cause someone asked about something I know about.
🙂
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### Author:  [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/9 "2003-06-04T13:07:56Z")
Dootsie,
Works brilliantly. This place rocks…
Thank you so much…
:@)
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### Author:  [@tastycorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tastycorn)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/10 "2003-06-04T13:10:03Z")
Hey Tootsie…race ya to 1000…
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/11 "2003-06-04T17:54:21Z")
welcome aboard **dootsie**!
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### Author:  [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/12 "2003-06-04T18:00:55Z")
I just make the cell with the “#DIV!0” error white text on a white background.
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### Author:  [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/13 "2003-06-04T18:29:53Z")
me too, **NoGoodNamesLeft**. But I tend to find the fastest and easiest way to do something. Now I know that there’s a CORRECT way too.
I think I’m sticking to fastest and easiest…
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### Author:  [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/14 "2003-06-04T19:10:14Z")
I dealt with the same exact problem yesterday, and dealt with it with a bunch of nested ifs!
I had no idea there was an iserror. I’m gonna try it out right now.
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### Author:  [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2003, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/15 "2003-06-05T07:47:09Z")
Yeah - but if you make the text white on a white background, it will still appear if you print the sheet…
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### Author:  [@RussellM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RussellM)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2003, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/16 "2003-06-05T08:15:18Z")
**NoGoodNamesLeft** - surely you’re kidding?
What happens when the data changes, and the blanked cell is no longer an error?
Russell
(mostly convinced he’s being wooshed in some subtle way)
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### Author:  [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2003, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/17 "2003-06-05T08:28:37Z")
\*\* russellm \*\* absolutely - that’s why I went looking for a good solution…
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### Author:  [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2003, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/18 "2003-06-05T10:25:45Z")
Well you can always use conditional formatting, but it really is a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
The IF(ISERROR(),) or the IF(A1=0,) methods are far better.
Also, leaving errors in cells slows down the recalculation of the workbook. When you write spreadsheets that can take upwards of a minute to recalculate (as I sometimes do), every second counts.
pan
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### Author:  [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2003, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/19 "2003-06-05T10:28:57Z")
Kabbes - the conditional formatting thing doesn’t usually work - cf. the OP…
Unless there is something that I am missing…
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### Author:  [@tastycorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tastycorn)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2003, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgent-ms-excel-question/179575/20 "2003-06-05T10:32:00Z")
Tarantula, what conditional formatting mask did you use?
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