Why do some people use Plus Sign at beginning of formulas?

[Captain Smith]

I have noticed that a handful of people at work enter a formula as =+A1+A2 instead of the way I would enter it =A1+A2

What is the origin of the extra plus sign at the beginning? To me it seems to be unproductive and is simply not needed. I have been using Excel for over 12 years and have never needed to enter any formulas like that. Does this originate back to a much older version of Excel where it was once needed?

Just curious.
Thanks.

 

[pgc01]

Thanks joeu.

I had never noticed but the same happens to me.

If I format a cell as Accounting and then enter

+360/60/10/12/25.4*17

then I also get the 4.8189 and excel changes the formula to

=6/0.833333333333333/25.4*17

, which is =(360/60)/(10/12)/24.5*17, it performs the divisions 2 operands at a time

To test if excel always pairs the operands 2 by 2, I then tried

+10/5/12/4/20/5

and excel transformed the formula into:

=2/3/4

again (wrongly) pairing the operands like =(10/5)/(12/4)/(20/5)

No problem if instead of entering the formula with a "+" I enter the formula with the "=".

 

[hgalstyan]

It's also because there's no = key on the numberpad of a keyboard

Right, I use it very often. but there is another reason, too. I do not remember well, but I think in older versions of Excel when I typed = then a value, it showed only the value, then I needed to edit the formula, so I had to click the beginning of the number, put the + sign again than add smth; when I put + sign, it was remaining in formula bar, so I only had to add something and not go back to put the equal/plus sign each time. Additionally, there is a setting in excel that converts a formula to a value when I marked = sign.

 

[Julie Fortin]

Would it be the same reason why there is a minus sign for example =-I20

 

[Kamolga]

Would it be the same reason why there is a minus sign for example =-I20

No, the "+" replace the the "=", =I20 ou +I20 is exactly the same value.
On my Azerty keyboard, the + is on top of =, so if I have a shift lock, I will type +I20 instead of =I20...and it does not matter.

 

[Julie Fortin]

No, the "+" replace the the "=", =I20 ou +I20 is exactly the same value.
On my Azerty keyboard, the + is on top of =, so if I have a shift lock, I will type +I20 instead of =I20...and it does not matter.

Then would anyone know the reason behind the =-I20? I get the reasoning for the " =+ " I'm just trying to understand the "=-" and I can't seem to find it anywhere

 

[RoryA]

=-I20 would negate whatever is in I20. So if it contained 100, you'd get -100. Without knowing more about the worksheet, it is hard to say whether that makes sense or not.

 

[Julie Fortin]

=-I20 would negate whatever is in I20. So if it contained 100, you'd get -100. Without knowing more about the worksheet, it is hard to say whether that makes sense or not.

Thank you so very much! It makes perfect sense!

 

[Bertrands Postulate]

Thank you for posting this. Had the exact question as of 2023, and this is extremely relevant question to Excel.