zeros

  • Thread starter Thread starter Flipper
  • Start date Start date
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Flipper

Why, in the result of a formula, does "0" sometimes appear as 0.00, (0.00),
or -? The formula and the formatting on all cells is the same and is a
simple formula like A4-B4.
Thanks
 
So what formatting do you think the cells do have?
Tell us what format the cell has for each of your results
0.00
(0.00)
-

I would bet that they are NOT all the same format.
 
Hi,

If the difference between A4 and B4 is very small but positive but you are
only displaying 2 decimals you could see 0.00. If the difference is very
small but negative you could see (0.00) and if the result was exactly 0 you
might see -

The format for this would be 0.00_);(0.00);-
 
Shane Devenshire said:
If the difference between A4 and B4 is very small but positive but you are
only displaying 2 decimals you could see 0.00. If the difference is very
small but negative you could see (0.00) and if the result was exactly 0
you
might see -[.] The format for this would be 0.00_);(0.00);-
Click to expand...

Or simply Accounting with "none" for Symbol. And with the default of 2
decimal places, the difference can be as large as about 0.0049... (meaning
any number of 9s).

The situation can be avoided by the prudent and prolific use of the ROUND
function, for example ROUND(A4-B4,2). And if A4 and B4 have values derive
from expressions, not just constants, it might be prudent to use
=ROUND(formula,2) in each of those cells.

PS: You might think that if you use ROUND(formula,2) in each of A4 and B4,
you should not need ROUND(A4-B4,2). But it would be better if you did the
latter as well to ensure that you do not encounter any surprises in other
formulas that might depend on that cell value.


----- original message -----
 
Sorry about this response to an old thread that is surely no longer of
interest. My mistake in OE usage.


----- original message -----

JoeU2004 said:
Shane Devenshire said:
If the difference between A4 and B4 is very small but positive but you
are
only displaying 2 decimals you could see 0.00. If the difference is very
small but negative you could see (0.00) and if the result was exactly 0
you
might see -[.] The format for this would be 0.00_);(0.00);-
Click to expand...

Or simply Accounting with "none" for Symbol. And with the default of 2
decimal places, the difference can be as large as about 0.0049... (meaning
any number of 9s).

The situation can be avoided by the prudent and prolific use of the ROUND
function, for example ROUND(A4-B4,2). And if A4 and B4 have values derive
from expressions, not just constants, it might be prudent to use
=ROUND(formula,2) in each of those cells.

PS: You might think that if you use ROUND(formula,2) in each of A4 and
B4, you should not need ROUND(A4-B4,2). But it would be better if you did
the latter as well to ensure that you do not encounter any surprises in
other formulas that might depend on that cell value.


----- original message -----

Shane Devenshire said:
Hi,

If the difference between A4 and B4 is very small but positive but you
are
only displaying 2 decimals you could see 0.00. If the difference is very
small but negative you could see (0.00) and if the result was exactly 0
you
might see -

The format for this would be 0.00_);(0.00);-

--
If this helps, please click the Yes button

Cheers,
Shane Devenshire
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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