Checking function
ISTEXT
Is this text?
Purpose
Ask whether a value is text
Returns
TRUE if the value is text, FALSE for a number, a blank or a logical value
Syntax
=ISTEXT(text)
| Argument | Required | What goes here |
|---|---|---|
text | Required | The cell to check, usually A2. |
How to use ISTEXT
ISTEXT is ISNUMBER from the other side, and on an import it is often the more direct question: is there anything in this amount column that is text?
Applied down a column it finds the rows that will not add up, rather than telling you only that the total is wrong.
An empty cell is not text, so ISTEXT and ISBLANK are asking two different questions and a column can fail either.
Examples
Every result below is worked out by the same evaluator that marks your answers, on the sheet shown here.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reference | Supplier name | Amount | Posted |
| 2 | GL-6100-8801 | brightwell paper | 1500 | Y |
| 3 | GL-6200-8802 | calder UTILITIES | 320 | y |
| 4 | GL-6100-8803 | meridian freight ltd | 2750 | |
| 5 | GL-6300-8804 | ashgrove catering | 184 | Y |
| 6 | GL-6200-8805 | THORNBURY print | 760 | |
| 7 | GL-6100-8806 | Brightwell Paper | 1120 | Y |
| Formula | Result |
|---|---|
=ISTEXT(C2)The amount is text. This is the row that will not total. | TRUE |
=ISTEXT(VALUE(C2))Once converted it is a number, so ISTEXT is FALSE. | FALSE |
=ISTEXT(D4)An empty cell is not text either. This is FALSE, and ISBLANK is the question that would have been TRUE. | FALSE |
Notes
- ISTEXT is FALSE for an empty cell, so it cannot be used on its own to find gaps.
Related
Practise ISTEXT in Unit 20
A reference tells you what it does. A unit makes you use it.