Summing & Averaging of absolute values, results of formulas

[Frank]

I have created a spreadsheet and have a formula in place that returns a given numeric value. I can add these results when I represent the formula as =K5+L5+M5. In this case, it returns the correct sum of 225 (75,100 and 50, respectively). However, when I use =SUM(K5:M5) I get the value '0' and not the same 225.

The reason this is important is because I am creating a generic spreadsheet for people at my work to use to derive an 'average'by taking the sum of as many columns as are filled in and dividing by the count (COUNTA) of those columns. I don't want to have to rework it every time the number of responses/columns is different.

Can anybody out there HELP?

 

[Aladin Akyurek]

On 2002-11-01 19:29, Frank wrote:
I have created a spreadsheet and have a formula in place that returns a given numeric value. I can add these results when I represent the formula as =K5+L5+M5. In this case, it returns the correct sum of 225 (75,100 and 50, respectively). However, when I use =SUM(K5:M5) I get the value '0' and not the same 225.

The reason this is important is because I am creating a generic spreadsheet for people at my work to use to derive an 'average'by taking the sum of as many columns as are filled in and dividing by the count (COUNTA) of those columns. I don't want to have to rework it every time the number of responses/columns is different.

Can anybody out there HELP?

Your numbers are not true numbers, but text. That's why SUM does not see them. The + operator sees them because it coerces text represented numbers to true numbers.

(1.) Select an empty cell.
(2.) Edit|Copy the selected empty cell.
(3.) Select all the cells containing "text numbers".
(4.) Execute Edit|Paste Special >Add.

The foregoing recipe will make them all true numbers.