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ISNUMBER
ISNUMBER
Last updated on
Description
Use this function to check if a cell contains a numeric value, or that the result of another function is a number. Supported in Chains.
Syntax
ISNUMBER(value)
Inputs
This function has the following arguments:
Name
Required
Description
Valid input
value
Yes
The cell that you want to evaluate.
A reference to a cell, or a formula which results in one.
Examples
Sample data
A
B
1
red
56
2
green
39
3
orange
15
4
red 4
92
5
blue
22
Sample formulas
Use case
Formula
Explanation and Result
Check whether the value in a cell is a number.
=ISNUMBER(A1)
This formula works in the following manner:
ISNUMBER(: This is the function itself, checking if a value is a number.
A1: The cell reference containing the value to check.
The function returns TRUE if the value is only a number, and FALSE otherwise.
Result: FALSE. (Because A1 contains "red".)
Check whether the value in a cell is a number.
=ISNUMBER(B1)
This formula works in the following manner:
ISNUMBER(: This is the function itself.
B1: The cell reference containing the value to check.
The function returns TRUE if the value is only a number, and FALSE otherwise.
Result: TRUE (because B1 contains "56")
Check whether the value in a cell is a number.
=ISNUMBER(A4)
This formula works in the following manner:
ISNUMBER(: This is the function itself.
B1: The cell reference containing the value to check.
The function returns TRUE if the value is only a number, and FALSE otherwise.
Result: FALSE. (Because A1 contains "red" in addition to "4".)
Check whether the sum of two cells is a number.
=ISNUMBER(A1+B1)
This formula works in the following manner:
A1+B1: Attempts to add the values in A1 ("red") and B1 (56). This operation results in a #VALUE! error because you cannot mathematically add text and a number.
ISNUMBER(...): Checks if the result of the addition is a number. Since the result is an error, not a number, the function returns FALSE.
Result: FALSE. (Because cell A1 contains "red".)
Check whether a cell contains a specific term
=ISNUMBER(SEARCH("green", A2))
This formula works in the following manner:
SEARCH("green", A2): Looks for the text "green" within the text in A2 ("green"). It returns the starting position number (1) if found, or an error if not found.
ISNUMBER(...): Checks if the result of the SEARCH function is a number.
If SEARCH returns a number (meaning "green" was found), ISNUMBER returns TRUE.
If SEARCH returns an error (meaning "green" was not found), ISNUMBER returns FALSE.
Result: TRUE. (Because A2 contains "green".) Note: It would still return TRUE if A2 contained "bright green". In that case SEARCH would have returned "8", but as that is still a number, the result is the same.
Provide alternative response if a cell is not a number.
=IF(ISNUMBER(A1), A1*2, "Not a Number")
This formula works in the following manner:
ISNUMBER(A1): Checks if the value in A1 is a number. This returns FALSE because A1 contains "red".
IF(...): Evaluates the result of ISNUMBER(A1).
Since ISNUMBER(A1) is FALSE, the IF function executes the third argument (the value_if_false) and returns the text "Not a Number".
If ISNUMBER(A1) were TRUE, the IF function would execute the second argument (A1*2), multiplying the numeric value in A1 by 2.
Result: Not a Number. (Because A1 does not contain a number.)
Notes
Cell ranges aren't supported.
ISNUMBER returns TRUE for cells containing dates and times.
ISNUMBER returns FALSE for empty cells, cells containing text, and errors.