How to fix formula parsing errors in Google Sheets

What are formula parsing errors in Google Sheets?

Formula parsing errors occur in Google Sheets when the application cannot handle the instructions in the formula. This is usually because there's a problem with the formula itself, or there's a problem with the cells the formula refers to.

There are many different types of formula parsing errors in Google Sheets. How to fix formula parsing errors in Google Sheets depends on the type of error your formula produces.

We'll look at some of the most common formula parsing errors below and how to fix them.

How to fix #ERROR! Error

#Error in Google Sheets! Formula parsing errors occur when Google Sheets doesn't understand your formula but isn't sure what the problem is. When you see a formula parsing error in your spreadsheet, you can view more information about the error by hovering your mouse over the small red triangle in the upper-right corner of the cell.

For many of the errors below, this will provide some useful information about the cause of the error. In case of #ERROR! Formula parsing error, this box does not provide any information that we do not know.

Unfortunately, #ERROR! is one of the most difficult formula parsing errors to fix. You'll be stuck with nothing to do, and the reason could be one of many different problems.

If your formula is complex, find out the cause of the #ERROR! Information can be challenging - but not impossible.

FIX #ERROR! Message in Google Sheets:

1. Click on the cell containing the formula.
2. Check if you are missing any operators via the formula. For example, missing numbers may cause this error.
3. Check whether the number of open brackets matches the number of closing brackets.
4. Check that your cell references are correct. For example, a formula that uses A1 A5 instead of A1:A5 will produce this error.
5. See if you include the $ symbol anywhere in the formula to reference currency. This symbol is used for absolute references to cells, so it can cause this error if used incorrectly.
6. If you still can't find the source of the error, try recreating your formula from scratch. When you start entering any formula in Google Sheets, use the helper that appears to make sure your formula has the correct syntax.

How to Fix #N/A Error in Google Sheets

Occurs when the value or string you are looking for is not found in the given range# N/A error. This may be because you are looking for a value that is not in the list, or because you entered the wrong search key.

This error is usually found when using functions such as VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP. The good news is that hovering your mouse over the red triangle will usually give you some useful information on how to fix the problem.

To fix #N/A errors in Google Sheets:

1. Hover your mouse over the red triangle in the cell showing the error.
   
2. You should see some information about the cause of the error.
   
3. In this example, the formula is searching for the name "Alam", but the correct spelling of the name in the list is "Alan".
   
4. Correct the spelling in the formula and the error disappears.
   
5. Other possible causes of the error may be that your data does not contain the search key you are looking for, or that you entered the wrong range. Recheck your formula to make sure each part is correct and your errors should be fixed.

How to fix #DIV/0! Error in Google Sheets

This error is common when you use formulas that involve mathematical division. The error indicates that you are trying to divide by zero. This is a calculation that Google Sheets cannot perform because mathematically the answer is undefined.

Fix #DIV/0! Error in Google Sheets:

1. Click on the cell containing the error.
2. Look for the division sign ( / ) in the formula.
3. Highlight the part to the right of the symbol and you should see a value pop up above the highlighted area. If this value is zero, your highlighted section is #DIV/0!
   
   
4. # Repeat this for any other part of the formula.
5. When you find all instances of division by zero, changing or removing these parts should eliminate the error.
6. You may also get this error when using functions that use division in their calculations (such as AVERAGE).
7. This usually means that the range you selected contains no values.
   
8. Changing your scope should fix this.

How to fix #REF! Error

#REF in Google Sheets! Error means you have an invalid cell reference in your formula. This could be because you are referring to a cell that does not exist, because you are referring to a cell outside the selected range, or because you have a circular reference. Hovering over the red triangle will tell you what issue caused your error.

Reference does not exist #REF! Error

When you hover over an error cell, you may see a reference not existing message.

If you see this error, it means that at least one of the cells referenced in your formula no longer exists. This usually happens if you delete the row or column that contains the cells referenced in the formula.

Fix non-existent reference #REF! Error:

1. Click the cell that contains the error.
2. Looking for#REF! Within the formula itself.
   
3. Replace this part of the formula with a value or a valid cell reference.
   
4. The error will now disappear.

Out of range #REF! Error

If you hover over a cell that contains an error, you may see a message stating that the formula evaluated out of range.

This means that your formula refers to cells that are not included in the range you specified.

Fix out of bounds range #REF! Error:

1. Click the cell that contains the error.
2. Check the formula in that cell for any references to cells outside the range.
   
3. In this example, the range references the values ​​in columns B and C, but requires the formula to return a value from the third column in the range. Since the range only contains two columns, the third column is outside the range.
4. Either increase the range to include three columns or change the index to 1 or 2 and the error will go away.

Circular dependency #REF! Error

Hover over #REF! Error cells may show that the problem is due to a circular dependency.

This means the formula is trying to reference itself. This is a common mistake when you try to find the sum of a column of numbers and you may accidentally include cells in the range that contain your formula.

Fix circular dependencies #REF! mistake:

1. Click on the cell containing the error.
2. Write down the reference to this cell, such as B7.
   
3. Look for this cell reference in your formula. The cell may not appear explicitly in your formula; it may be included in a range.
   
4. Remove any reference to the cell containing the formula from the formula itself and the error will go away.
   

How to fix #VALUE! Error

# value in Google Sheets! The error occurs when you use a formula that requires a numeric value but uses or references a cell that contains a text string. Hovering the mouse over a cell can provide very useful information about the exact cause of the problem.

FIX #VALUE! Errors in Google Sheets:

1. Hover your mouse over the cell containing the error.
2. You will see information about which part of the formula caused the error. If your cells contain any spaces, these may cause the cell to be treated as text rather than a value.
   
3. Replace the offending part of the formula with the value or a reference to the value and the error will disappear.
   

How to fix #NAME? Error

#NAME in Google Sheets? error means you entered a spelling error in the formula, or you omitted or used the wrong quotation marks. Hovering your mouse over a cell can help you determine which part of the formula is incorrect.

FIX #NAME? Errors in Google Sheets:

1. Hover over the error cell.
2. You will see information about which part of the formula is unrecognized.
   
3. If the word is obviously misspelled, correct the spelling and the mistake should go away.
   
4. If the word is spelled correctly, find the part of the formula that contains the word.
   
5. Try adding or removing quotes around the word and the error message may disappear.
   

How to fix #NUM! Error

#NUM in Google Sheets! This error means that you are trying to calculate a value that is larger than Google Sheets can calculate or display. Hovering the mouse over a cell provides information about the cause.

Fix #NUM! Errors in Google Sheets:

1. Hover your mouse over the cell containing the error.
2. If the result of a formula is too large to be displayed, you will see an associated error message. Reduce the size of the value to fix the error.
   
3. If the result of a formula is too large to be calculated, hovering over the cell may give you the maximum value you can use in the formula.
   
4. Staying within this range will fix the error.
   

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