Basic error trapping example in Excel

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To catch errors that a formula might trigger in a worksheet, you can use the IFERROR function to display a custom message, or nothing at all. See example below:

Formula

=IFERROR(formula,value_if_error)

Explanation

In the example shown, the formula in E5 is:

=IFERROR(C5/D5,"")

How this formula works

In this example, the IFERROR function is used to trap and suppress the #DIV/0! error that occurs when there is no value for Orders (column D). Without IFERROR, the formula C5/D5 would display a #DIV/0! error in E6 and E9.

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The IFERROR function takes two arguments: a value (usually entered as a formula), and a result to display if the formula returns an error. The second argument is only used if the first argument throws an error.

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In this case, the first argument is the simple formula for calculating the average order size, which divides total sales by the order count:

=C5/D5

The second argument is entered as an empty string (“”).

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When the formula returns a normal result, the result is displayed.

When the formula returns #DIV/0!, an empty string is returned and nothing is displayed.

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