#N/A

royhern · Mar 15th, 2002, 07:31 PM

have Vlookup formula that returns values which includes #N/A and numbers that must be average. When i take average it returns #N/A again as a total average. How can i bypass this ?

Thanks, Roy

Anne Troy · Mar 15th, 2002, 07:39 PM

Have you tried retyping either the numbers that are being looked up or the numbers in the list that needs to match? Sometimes, Excel doesn't see numbers as values, but as text.

Rocky E · Mar 15th, 2002, 07:43 PM

There is a special function called isna(). Place your vlookup inside and test isna() with an if. For example:

:"=if(isna(vlookup(a1,c1:z20,2,false)),0,vlookup(a1,c1:z20,2,false))"

HTH
Rocky
Woops I just reread your post. The zeros will mess the average up. You are going to have to sum()/countif(b1:b20,">0") to figure the average. Unless someone has a better way.
Sorry...
Rocky

[ This Message was edited by: Rocky E on 2002-03-15 18:44 ]

[ This Message was edited by: Rocky E on 2002-03-15 18:54 ]

Aladin Akyurek · Mar 16th, 2002, 12:00 AM

Quote:

On 2002-03-15 18:31, royhern wrote:
have Vlookup formula that returns values which includes #N/A and numbers that must be average. When i take average it returns #N/A again as a total average. How can i bypass this ?

Thanks, Roy

Roy,

You don't have to suppress #N/A's that VLOOKUP returns in order to compute an average:

Lets say that we have the following in A1:A4.

The following formula will compute the desired average:

=SUMIF(A1:A4,"<>#N/A")/MAX(1,COUNTIF(A1:A4,"<>#N/A"))

Addendum: It has been noticed that COUNTIF will not ignore any blanks in the range, because of its condition/criterion part. The observation is correct. The original formula requires modification:

=SUMIF(A1:A4,"<>#N/A")/MAX(1,COUNT(A1:A4))

which I should have suggested in the first place.

Aladin

[ This Message was edited by: Aladin Akyurek on 2002-03-16 03:49 ]

Dave Hawley · Mar 16th, 2002, 04:33 AM

Hi Roy

You will get the correct result by using the DAVERAGE Function, this will ignore #N/A and blank cells by default. the method above doesn't ingnore blanks and can easily give an incorrect result.

Let's say your numbers are in the Range A1:A10 and A1 has a heading of "Nums"

Copy this heading to cell D1 then in D2 put:
>0

Now simply use:

=DAVERAGE(A1:A10,"Nums",D1:D2)

This will give you the correct result. The Dfunctions (IMO) are very much underutilized and can perform very complicated functions ob very large data tables that need to meet multiple criteria. Once you get the hang of them you will never consider an array formula again.

Dave Patton · Mar 16th, 2002, 08:03 AM

Daverage alternative

What if there are some negative numbers
in the range?

Dave Hawley · Mar 16th, 2002, 01:38 PM

Then you simply add another criteria and modify the first.

Eg, with the copied heading now in D1 and E1
Put: <>0 in D2 and <>#N/A in E2

The reason we now need to tell our DAVERAGE to ingnore #N/A (does normally by default) is because we are now forcing it to include it by using #N/A

_________________
Kind Regards
Dave Hawley
OzGrid Business Applications
Microsoft Excel/VBA Training

[ This Message was edited by: Dave Hawley on 2002-03-16 12:39 ]

Dave Hawley · Mar 16th, 2002, 09:06 PM

You may also be interested in some slightly more advanced uses of the Database Functions, you can download a free Workbook here if you are:

http://www.ozgrid.com/download/default.htm
DFunctionsWithValidation.zip

Mar 15th, 2002, 07:39 PM	#2
Anne Troy MrExcel MVP Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Allentown, PA Posts: 2,510	Have you tried retyping either the numbers that are being looked up or the numbers in the list that needs to match? Sometimes, Excel doesn't see numbers as values, but as text. __________________ ~Anne Troy

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Mar 15th, 2002, 07:31 PM	#1
royhern Board Regular Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 155	have Vlookup formula that returns values which includes #N/A and numbers that must be average. When i take average it returns #N/A again as a total average. How can i bypass this ? Thanks, Roy

Mar 15th, 2002, 07:43 PM	#3
Rocky E Board Regular Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: North Alabama, USA Posts: 105	There is a special function called isna(). Place your vlookup inside and test isna() with an if. For example: :"=if(isna(vlookup(a1,c1:z20,2,false)),0,vlookup(a1,c1:z20,2,false))" HTH Rocky Woops I just reread your post. The zeros will mess the average up. You are going to have to sum()/countif(b1:b20,">0") to figure the average. Unless someone has a better way. Sorry... Rocky [ This Message was edited by: Rocky E on 2002-03-15 18:44 ] [ This Message was edited by: Rocky E on 2002-03-15 18:54 ]

Mar 16th, 2002, 04:33 AM	#5
Dave Hawley Banned Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,582	Hi Roy You will get the correct result by using the DAVERAGE Function, this will ignore #N/A and blank cells by default. the method above doesn't ingnore blanks and can easily give an incorrect result. Let's say your numbers are in the Range A1:A10 and A1 has a heading of "Nums" Copy this heading to cell D1 then in D2 put: >0 Now simply use: =DAVERAGE(A1:A10,"Nums",D1:D2) This will give you the correct result. The Dfunctions (IMO) are very much underutilized and can perform very complicated functions ob very large data tables that need to meet multiple criteria. Once you get the hang of them you will never consider an array formula again.

Mar 16th, 2002, 08:03 AM	#6
Dave Patton Board Regular Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada Posts: 2,065	Daverage alternative What if there are some negative numbers in the range?

Mar 16th, 2002, 01:38 PM	#7
Dave Hawley Banned Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,582	Then you simply add another criteria and modify the first. Eg, with the copied heading now in D1 and E1 Put: <>0 in D2 and <>#N/A in E2 The reason we now need to tell our DAVERAGE to ingnore #N/A (does normally by default) is because we are now forcing it to include it by using #N/A _________________ Kind Regards Dave Hawley OzGrid Business Applications Microsoft Excel/VBA Training [ This Message was edited by: Dave Hawley on 2002-03-16 12:39 ]

Mar 16th, 2002, 09:06 PM	#8
Dave Hawley Banned Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,582	You may also be interested in some slightly more advanced uses of the Database Functions, you can download a free Workbook here if you are: http://www.ozgrid.com/download/default.htm DFunctionsWithValidation.zip