Excel ISNA Function

If you want to follow along with this tutorial, please download the example spreadsheet.

Description

The Excel ISNA function tests if a value or expression returns Excel #N/A error. If so, it returns TRUE, otherwise, returns FALSE.

Syntax and arguments

Formula syntax

Arguments

Return Value

The ISNA function returns a logical value TRUE or FALSE.

Version

Excel 2003 and later versions

Usage and Examples

Example1: Basic Usage

To check if the cells in range B4:B8 contain #N/A error, you can use the ISFORMULA function as below:

Select a cell to place the checking result, and type the formula as this:

=ISNA(B4)

Press Enter key, and then drag the auto-fill handle down to get all results.

Example2: Combine with IF function

The ISNA function is usually combined with the IF function to return a custom message when the cell contains a #N/A error.:

Supposing in range B12:B16 contains name list 1, then using the VLOOKUP function to find if the names in D12:D15 are in the name list 1, the names do not exist in name list 1 will return #N/A errors. Then change the #N/A error to a custom message such as None. You can use the ISNA function as this:

=IF(ISNA(E12),"None",E12)

Press Enter key, and then drag the auto-fill handle down to get all results.

Relative Functions:

• Excel ISODD Function
  The ISODD function checks whether a value is an odd number. If the given value is an odd number, it returns TRUE. Otherwise, it returns FALSE.

• Excel ISEER Function
  The ISERR function returns TRUE for any error type (except #N/A) and FALSE otherwise.

• Excel ISEVEN Function
  The Excel ISEVEN function tests if a supplied number (or numeric expression) is even, if so, it returns TRUE, otherwise, it returns FALSE.

• Excel ISREF Function
  The ISREF function checks whether a given value is a reference. If the given value is a reference, it returns TRUE. Otherwise, it returns FALSE.