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

Check register balance

To set a check register formula that calculates a running balance, you can use a formula based on simple addition and subtraction. In the example shown, the formula in G6 is: =G5-E6+F6 How this formula works The...

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),"")...

Count line breaks in cell

To count total lines in a cell, you can use a formula based on the LEN, SUBSTITUTE, and CHAR functions. In the example, we are using this formula: =LEN(B5)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(B5,CHAR(10),""))+1 How the...

Get first non-blank value in a list

To get the first non-blank value (text or number) in a in a one-column range you can use an array formula based on the INDEX, MATCH, and ISBLANK functions. In the example the formula we're using is: {=INDEX(B3:...

Count total words in a cell

To count the total words in a cell, you can use a formula based on the LEN and SUBSTITUTE functions. In the example shown, C3 contains this formula: =LEN(TRIM(B3))-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(B3," ",""))+1 How...

Show checkmark if complete

To show a checkmark when a task is complete, you can use a formula based on the IF and CHAR functions. In the example shown, the formula in D5, copied down, is: =IF(C5="complete",CHAR(252),"")...

If cell is blank

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...

Return blank if

To return a blank result using the IF function, you can use an empty string (""). In the example shown, the formula in D5 (copied down) is: =IF(B5=1,C5,"") How this formula works This formula is based on...

Highlight blank cells

If you want to highlight cells that are blank or empty with conditional formatting, you can do so with a simple formula based on the ISBLANK function. For example, if you want to highlight blank cells in the range B4:...

If cell is not blank

To take an action only when the cell is not blank (not empty), you can use a formula based on the IF function. In the example shown, column D holds task complete dates. The formula in cell E5 is: =IF(D5<>"...

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The Excel ISLOGICAL function returns TRUE when a cell contains the logical values TRUE or FALSE, and returns FALSE for cells that contain any other value, including empty cells.

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Excel ISREF Function

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Good links

Microsoft ISBLANK function documentation

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