How to use the IFNA function
Author: Oscar Cronquist Article last updated on May 04, 2022
The IFNA function handles #N/A errors only, it returns a given value you specify if the formula returns a #N/A error.
Table of Contents
1. IFNA Function Syntax
IFNA(value, value_if_na)
2. IFNA Function Arguments
| value | Required. The value you want to check. |
| value_if_na | Required. The value to return if the value argument returns #N/A. |
3. IFNA Function Example
The image above shows values and formulas in column B, the first cell B3 contains value A. The IFNA Function returns "A" because the result is not an #N/A error.
Formula in cell D3:
=IFNA(B3, "Yes")
#N/A means not available and is returned if a formula or function can't find a value. Cell B5 contains this formula:
=MATCH(1,0,0)
It returns a #N/A error because 1 is not found in the second argument in the MATCH function. The IFNA function catches this error and returns "Yes" which is the value we specified in the second argument.
4. When to use the IFNA Function?
Use the IFNA function instead of the IFERROR function to check for #N/A errors specifically. For example, VLOOKUP returns #N/A when it can't find the lookup value.
The IFERROR function checks for all error values which in most cases is not recommended. This makes it harder to spot a more serious error since all error values are handled.
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