How to use the Excel ISBLANK function

Summary

The Excel ISBLANK function returns TRUE when a cell contains is empty, and FALSE when a cell is not empty. For example, if A1 contains "apple", ISBLANK(A1) returns FALSE.

Purpose

Test if a cell is empty

Return value

A logical value (TRUE or FALSE)

Syntax

=ISBLANK (value)

Arguments

value - The value to check.

Usage notes

Use the ISBLANK function to test if a cell is empty or not.

For example, =ISBLANK(A1) will return TRUE if A1 is empty, and FALSE if A1 contains text a formula (even if the formula returns an empty string "").

It's probably best to think of ISBLANK to mean "is empty" since it can return FALSE when cells look blank but aren't. For example, if A1 contains a space character (" "), or a formula that returns an empty string (""), A1 will look blank , but ISBLANK(A1) will return FALSE in both cases.

ISBLANK formula examples

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To test a cell and take some action if the cell is blank (empty), you can use the IF function. The formula in cell E5 is: =IF(D5="","Open","Closed") How this formula works The logical...

Only calculate if not blank

To run a formula only when one or more cells are not blank, you can use the IF function with an appropriate logical criteria. In the example shown, the formula in E5 is: =IF(COUNT(C5:C7)=3,SUM(C5:C7),"")...

If not blank multiple cells

To test multiple cells, and return the value from the first non-blank cell, you can use a formula based on the IF function. In the example shown, column D holds task complete dates. The formula in cell F5 is: =IF(B5...

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