Data Cleaningbeginner
Suppress formula errors with IFERROR
=IFERROR(VLOOKUP(A2,$F$2:$G$20,2,FALSE),"-")
Excel how-to guide
How to isblank check empty in Excel
Flag rows with missing data, skip blank cells in a calculation, or trigger conditional formatting when required fields are left unfilled.
Step-by-step instructions
How to isblank check empty — 3 steps
1
Reference the cell you want to test inside ISBLANK.
2
ISBLANK returns TRUE only for cells with absolutely no content — not even a space character.
3
Wrap in IF to return a label, or use directly in conditional formatting rules.
Example data
Worked example
| Customer Name | Status |
|---|---|
| Alice | OK |
| Missing | |
| Bob | OK |
| Missing |
Common mistakes
Errors to watch out for
ISBLANK returns FALSE for a visually empty cell
The cell may contain a space, an empty string from a formula (=""), or a non-printable character. ISBLANK only returns TRUE for cells with absolutely no content. Use LEN(A2)=0 instead to catch empty strings as well.
ISBLANK vs checking for empty string
A formula result of "" looks blank but ISBLANK returns FALSE. Use A2="" to catch both truly blank cells and formula-generated empty strings.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How do I count blank cells in a range?
Use COUNTBLANK(A2:A100) to count all empty cells in the range. It counts both truly blank cells and cells containing an empty string.
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Data Cleaningbeginner
Validate numeric entries with ISNUMBER
=ISNUMBER(A2)