Common IF Mistakes to Avoid
Fix quotation, comparison, and argument errors in IF formulas.
Why IF Formulas Break
IF is simple, but a few small slips cause most errors. The good news: each mistake has a clear fingerprint and an easy fix.
In this lesson you will learn to spot quotation problems, wrong operators, missing arguments, and comparison traps so your logical formulas work the first time.
Mistake 1: Forgetting Quotes on Text
Text outcomes must be in double quotes. Leaving them off makes the spreadsheet look for a named range called Pass and usually returns a #NAME? error.
- Wrong:
=IF(A2 >= 60, Pass, Fail) - Right:
=IF(A2 >= 60, "Pass", "Fail")
Whenever an outcome is a word, wrap it in quotes.
=IF(A2 >= 60, "Pass", "Fail")All lessons in this course
- How the IF Function Thinks
- Comparing Values With Operators
- Returning Text or Numbers From IF
- Common IF Mistakes to Avoid