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← The library

Math function

ATAN2

Returns the angle from x and y coordinates.

Rarely usedDifficulty 1300 · ProficientUsage rank #296 of 520

Practice · 2 questions →

When to use it

Angle of the point (x, y) from the positive x axis, in radians, correctly placed in all four quadrants. Note the argument order: x first, then y, unlike most programming languages.

The shape of it

Syntax: =ATAN2(x_num, y_num)

Worked examples

Quarter turn of a quarter
=ATAN2(1,1) → 0.785398163
Pi over four.
In degrees
=DEGREES(ATAN2(1,1)) → 45
In degrees.
Third quadrant
=DEGREES(ATAN2(-1,-1)) → -135
Third quadrant, which plain ATAN(y/x) would report as 45.

Worth knowing

Compass bearing from a delta: =MOD(90-DEGREES(ATAN2(dx,dy)),360) when north is up.
The result is between -pi and pi.
Argument order is (x_num, y_num); most other tools use (y, x).

Where it goes wrong

#DIV/0! when both arguments are 0.
Swapping the arguments gives the complementary angle silently.

SUM SUMIF SUMIFS ROUND ABS SUMPRODUCT

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