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Information function

ERROR.TYPE

Returns a number identifying which error a value is.

Rarely usedDifficulty 1250 · ProficientUsage rank #282 of 520
Practice · 2 questions →

When to use it

A number identifying which error a cell holds: 1 #NULL!, 2 #DIV/0!, 3 #VALUE!, 4 #REF!, 5 #NAME?, 6 #NUM!, 7 #N/A, 8 #GETTING_DATA, 14 #SPILL!, 19 #CALC!.

The shape of it

Syntax
=ERROR.TYPE(error_val)

Worked examples

  • #N/A

    =ERROR.TYPE(NA()) → 7

    #N/A.

  • #DIV/0!

    =ERROR.TYPE(1/0) → 2

    #DIV/0!.

  • Not an error

    =ERROR.TYPE(1) → #N/A

    Not an error, so the function itself returns #N/A.

Worth knowing

  • Readable message: =IF(ISERROR(x),CHOOSE(ERROR.TYPE(x),"null","div by zero","value","ref","name","num","n/a"),x).
  • Different handling per error type in one formula.
  • Newer codes: 14 #SPILL!, 15 #CONNECT!, 16 #BLOCKED!, 17 #UNKNOWN!, 18 #FIELD!, 19 #CALC!.

Where it goes wrong

  • Returns #N/A for non-errors, which itself looks like an error.
  • Codes 9 to 13 are unused.

Related

ISBLANKISNUMBERISERRORISTEXTISNANA

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