{ "category": "Information functions", "display_name": "ISBLANK", "entry_kind": "built_in_function", "eval_api": { "method": "POST", "url": "https://handbook.dnacalc.com/api/eval" }, "function_id": "FUNC.ISBLANK", "implementation_state": { "answer_bank": { "excel_builds": [ "20430" ], "larger_numeric": 0, "last_bit": 0, "matched": 1227, "other_mismatch": 0, "refused": 0, "rows": 1227, "unread": 0, "worst_ulp": 0 }, "detail": "Recorded: 1,227 in the answer bank and 358 workbook cells.", "dnacalc_commit": "9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87", "in_catalogue": true, "state": "matches", "state_label": "Matches every recorded Excel answer", "summary": "Matches all 1,585 recorded answers", "workbook_corpus": { "cells": 359, "matched": 358, "pending": 1 } }, "implementations": [ { "commit": "9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87", "flavour": "excel-compatibility-candidate", "language": "Rust", "name": "CalcFunc", "own_code": [ "https://github.com/DnaCalc/DnaCalc/blob/9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87/crates/calc-func/src/catalogue/information.rs#L92-L92", "https://github.com/DnaCalc/DnaCalc/blob/9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87/crates/calc-func/src/catalogue/information.rs#L154-L163" ], "repository": "https://github.com/DnaCalc/DnaCalc", "shared_code": [ "catalogue/aggregate::reader", "catalogue/aggregate::read_reference", "catalogue/information::unary", "catalogue/information::scalar", "catalogue/information::known", "catalogue/information::predicate", "catalogue/information::each", "catalogue/information::n", "catalogue/information::n_of", "catalogue/information::referenced" ], "source": "https://github.com/DnaCalc/DnaCalc/blob/9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87/crates/calc-func/src/catalogue/information.rs#L92-L92", "state": "matches", "suite": null, "summary": "Matches all 1,585 recorded answers" } ], "json_url": "https://handbook.dnacalc.com/api/functions/FUNC.ISBLANK.json", "name": "ISBLANK", "notes": [], "schema": "efh.function-reference/v1", "section_order": [ "what-it-does", "try-it", "quirks", "how-to-implement", "version-differences", "alternatives" ], "sections": { "alternatives": "\n### Relationships\n\n\n- **`ISNONTEXT`** also returns `TRUE` for an empty cell — Microsoft says so in the function\n table itself (\"Note that this function returns TRUE if the value refers to a blank cell\").\n `ISBLANK` and `ISNONTEXT` therefore agree on `Empty` and disagree on every non-text non-empty\n kind. If you want \"nothing here\", `ISBLANK` is the narrow test; `ISNONTEXT` is not.\n- **`COUNTBLANK`** counts cells over a range using its own blank predicate, which is documented\n to include formulas returning `\"\"`. `ISBLANK` does not. Two functions, two definitions of\n blank, in the same workbook.\n- **`ISOMITTED`** is the `Missing`-side counterpart, but only inside a `LAMBDA`; it is not a\n general \"was this argument left out\" test at the worksheet level.\n- **`N`** maps both `Empty` and `Text` to `0`, which is why `N(A1)=0` cannot be used as a blank\n test.\n\n\n", "how-to-implement": "\n### Notes for implementers\n\n1. **Do not fold `Empty` into `Text(\"\")` or into `Number(0)` upstream of this function.** An\n engine that normalizes empties early will get `ISBLANK` wrong and will not be able to get it\n right again, because the information is gone. The `Empty` kind must survive argument\n preparation intact.\n3. **Reference resolution happens first.** A single-cell reference materializes as a 1x1 array\n and is collapsed to the scalar inside it; a reference to an untouched cell must collapse to\n `Empty`, not disappear.\n4. **Arrays are classified, not coerced.** The element-local rule from\n [coercion and lifting](../model/02-coercion-and-lifting.md) applies: an element that is an\n error is classified `FALSE`, it does not collapse the array.\n\n\n", "quirks": "\n### Result and edge cases\n\n\nReturns a `Logical`, or an array of `Logical` when the argument is an array.\n\n- **Omitted versus empty.** `Empty` and `Missing` are different kinds\n ([value universe](../model/01-value-universe.md), \"Missing versus Empty\"). `ISBLANK`'s\n documented subject is the empty *cell*. What the function returns for a `Missing` marker\n delivered by an empty argument slot is not something the Handbook has established.\n- **An error argument does not propagate.** `ISBLANK` is a kind test, so an `Error` value is a\n value it classifies rather than a failure it forwards; the answer for an error input is\n `FALSE`, not the error. This is the per-family exception to error propagation named in\n [coercion and lifting](../model/02-coercion-and-lifting.md).\n- **Zero-length text.** `FALSE`, per the table above. This is the single most consequential\n edge case on the page.\n\n\n\n### Errors\n\nMicrosoft's IS-functions page documents no error return for `ISBLANK`.\n\n\n", "sources": "- Microsoft, \"IS functions\" —\n .\n Read for this page: the function table row (\"Value refers to an empty cell\") and the remark\n that IS-function arguments are not converted.\n- Handbook, [coercion and lifting](../model/02-coercion-and-lifting.md) — non-conversion,\n error propagation as a per-family policy, element-local array failures.\n\n\n", "version-differences": "The recorded environments below distinguish a reading from a same-input comparison. Counts describe captured inputs in each environment; overlapping captures and comparisons are not totals of unique worksheet calls.\n\n| Excel 16.0 build | Platform and CPU | Captured inputs |\n|---|---|---:|\n| 20430 | Windows, 64-bit, CPU not recorded | 1,227 |\n\nThe record contains no same-input comparison between these environments. Reading different inputs on different builds does not establish either a version change or cross-build agreement.\n\n[Recorded environments and comparison details](https://github.com/DnaCalc/ExcelFunctionsHandbook/blob/5dc75391aa5125ccc5abdb095da85950980d6fd8/content/evidence/environments/FUNC.ISBLANK.json).", "what-it-does": "\n`ISBLANK(value)` answers exactly one question about a value's **kind**: is it `Empty`?\n\n`Empty` is the value-universe kind defined in\n[the value universe](../model/01-value-universe.md) as \"the state of a cell that has no\ncontent\" — a value-shaped stand-in for *nothing is here*. `ISBLANK` returns `TRUE` when and\nonly when the value it receives carries that kind, and `FALSE` for every other kind: `Number`,\n`Text`, `Logical`, `Error`, `Array`, `Reference`.\n\nThe distinction that makes this function worth a page is that **\"blank\" is a kind, not an\nappearance**. Four things a spreadsheet user would call blank are not `Empty`:\n\n| What is in the cell | Kind delivered | `ISBLANK` |\n|---|---|---|\n| Nothing — never typed into, or cleared | `Empty` | `TRUE` |\n| The empty string typed as `'` or entered as `\"\"` | `Text` (length 0) | `FALSE` |\n| A formula `=\"\"` that publishes an empty string | `Text` (length 0) | `FALSE` |\n| A formula whose result is `0` shown as blank by a number format | `Number` | `FALSE` |\n\nThe third row is the one that costs people afternoons: a helper column of `=IF(x,\"\",y)` is a\ncolumn of zero-length text, and `ISBLANK` will disagree with the eye on every row of it.\n\nMicrosoft states the condition as \"Value refers to an empty cell.\" The Handbook's restatement\nin terms of the `Empty` kind is the same rule made precise enough to implement, and it is what\nlets the page say something definite about `\"\"`, which the one-line documentation does not\naddress.\n\n\n\n### Arguments\n\n\n`value` — required, exactly one. There is no optional second argument and no variadic tail.\n\nThe argument is **not converted**. Microsoft's IS-functions remark is explicit: \"The value\narguments of the IS functions are not converted.\" `ISBLANK` inspects the kind that arrives and\nnothing more; there is no coercion attempt whose failure could change the answer. See\n[coercion and lifting](../model/02-coercion-and-lifting.md) for what \"not converted\" excludes.\n\n" }, "signature": { "display": "ISBLANK(value)", "parameters": [ { "description": null, "name": "value", "optional": false, "repeats": false } ], "trailing_repeats": false }, "sources": { "metadata": { "admission": { "label": "implemented", "reason": null }, "arity": { "max": 1, "min": 1 }, "category": "Information functions", "classification": { "arg_preparation_profile": "ValuesOnlyPreAdapter", "coercion_lift_profile": "None", "determinism_class": "Deterministic", "error_collapse_profile": "None", "fec_dependency_profile": "None", "host_interaction_class": "None", "kernel_signature_class": "Custom", "rich_value_usage": "RichBlind", "surface_fec_dependency_profile": "RefOnly", "thread_safety_class": "SafePure", "volatility_class": "NonVolatile" }, "descriptions": { "long": null, "short": "TRUE when the cell is empty", "short_source": "dna-calc-own" }, "docs": { "english_description": "Returns TRUE if the value is blank", "microsoft_url": "https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/is-functions-0f2d7971-6019-40a0-a171-f2d869135665" }, "entry_kind": "built_in_function", "localized_family_names": [ { "locale": "ar-SA", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "bg-BG", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "cs-CZ", "names": [ "ISODD", "JE.CHYBA", "JE.CHYBHODN", "JE.ČISLO", "JE.LOGHODN", "JE.NEDEF", "JE.NETEXT", "JE.ODKAZ", "JE.PRÁZDNÉ", "JE.TEXT" ] }, { "locale": "da-DK", "names": [ "ER.FEJL", "ER.FJL", "ER.IKKE.TEKST", "ER.IKKE.TILGÆNGELIG", "ER.LOGISK", "ER.REFERENCE", "ER.TAL", "ER.TEKST", "ER.TOM", "ER.ULIGE" ] }, { "locale": "de-DE", "names": [ "ISODD", "ISTBEZUG", "ISTFEHL", "ISTFEHLER", "ISTKTEXT", "ISTLEER", "ISTLOG", "ISTNV", "ISTTEXT", "ISTZAHL" ] }, { "locale": "el-GR", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "en-AU", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "en-GB", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "en-US", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "es-ES", "names": [ "ES.IMPAR", "ESBLANCO", "ESERR", "ESERROR", "ESLOGICO", "ESNOD", "ESNOTEXTO", "ESNUMERO", "ESREF", "ESTEXTO" ] }, { "locale": "et-EE", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "fi-FI", "names": [ "ONEI_TEKSTI", "ONLUKU", "ONPARITON", "ONPUUTTUU", "ONTEKSTI", "ONTOTUUS", "ONTYHJÄ", "ONVIITT", "ONVIRH", "ONVIRHE" ] }, { "locale": "fr-FR", "names": [ "EST.IMPAIR", "ESTERR", "ESTERREUR", "ESTLOGIQUE", "ESTNA", "ESTNONTEXTE", "ESTNUM", "ESTREF", "ESTTEXTE", "ESTVIDE" ] }, { "locale": "he-IL", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "hr-HR", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "hu-HU", "names": [ "HIBA.E", "HIBÁS", "HIVATKOZÁS", "LOGIKAI", "NEM.SZÖVEG", "NINCS", "PÁRATLANE", "SZÁM", "SZÖVEG.E", "ÜRES" ] }, { "locale": "id-ID", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "it-IT", "names": [ "ISODD", "VAL.ERR", "VAL.ERRORE", "VAL.LOGICO", "VAL.NON.DISP", "VAL.NON.TESTO", "VAL.NUMERO", "VAL.RIF", "VAL.TESTO", "VAL.VUOTO" ] }, { "locale": "ja-JP", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "ko-KR", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "lt-LT", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "lv-LV", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "nb-NO", "names": [ "ERF", "ERFEIL", "ERIKKETEKST", "ERIT", "ERLOGISK", "ERREF", "ERTALL", "ERTEKST", "ERTOM", "ISODD" ] }, { "locale": "nl-NL", "names": [ "IS.ONEVEN", "ISFOUT", "ISFOUT2", "ISGEENTEKST", "ISGETAL", "ISLEEG", "ISLOGISCH", "ISNB", "ISTEKST", "ISVERWIJZING" ] }, { "locale": "pl-PL", "names": [ "CZY.ADR", "CZY.BŁ", "CZY.BŁĄD", "CZY.BRAK", "CZY.LICZBA", "CZY.LOGICZNA", "CZY.NIE.TEKST", "CZY.NIEPARZYSTE", "CZY.PUSTA", "CZY.TEKST" ] }, { "locale": "pt-BR", "names": [ "É.NÃO.DISP", "É.NÃO.TEXTO", "ÉCÉL.VAZIA", "ÉERRO", "ÉERROS", "ÉLÓGICO", "ÉNÚMERO", "ÉREF", "ÉTEXTO", "ISODD" ] }, { "locale": "pt-PT", "names": [ "É.CÉL.VAZIA", "É.ERRO", "É.ERROS", "É.LÓGICO", "É.NÃO.DISP", "É.NÃO.TEXTO", "É.NÚM", "É.REF", "É.TEXTO", "ÉÍMPAR" ] }, { "locale": "ro-RO", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "ru-RU", "names": [ "ЕЛОГИЧ", "ЕНД", "ЕНЕТЕКСТ", "ЕНЕЧЁТ", "ЕОШ", "ЕОШИБКА", "ЕПУСТО", "ЕССЫЛКА", "ЕТЕКСТ", "ЕЧИСЛО" ] }, { "locale": "sk-SK", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "sl-SI", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "sr-Latn-RS", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "sv-SE", "names": [ "ÄREJTEXT", "ÄRF", "ÄRFEL", "ÄRLOGISK", "ÄRSAKNAD", "ÄRTAL", "ÄRTEXT", "ÄRTOM", "ÄRTOM", "ÄRUDDA" ] }, { "locale": "th-TH", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "tr-TR", "names": [ "EBOŞSA", "EHATA", "EHATALIYSA", "EMANTIKSALSA", "EMETİNDEĞİLSE", "EMETİNSE", "EREFSE", "ESAYIYSA", "EYOKSA", "TEKMİ işlevi" ] }, { "locale": "uk-UA", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "vi-VN", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "zh-CN", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "zh-HK", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] }, { "locale": "zh-TW", "names": [ "ISBLANK", "ISERR", "ISERROR", "ISLOGICAL", "ISNA", "ISNONTEXT", "ISNUMBER", "ISODD", "ISREF", "ISTEXT" ] } ], "localized_names": [], "signature": { "display": "ISBLANK(value)", "parameters": [ { "description": null, "name": "value", "optional": false, "repeats": false } ], "trailing_repeats": false }, "surface_name": "ISBLANK", "version_marker": null, "xlcall": { "code": "129", "symbol": "xlfIsblank" } }, "microsoft": "https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/is-functions-0f2d7971-6019-40a0-a171-f2d869135665" }, "try_it": { "formula": "=ISBLANK(1)" }, "url": "https://handbook.dnacalc.com/functions/ISBLANK.html", "variants": [], "versions": [ { "behaviour": "1,227 captured inputs are indexed for this environment. Capture dates: 2026-09-29 to 2026-09-29. This is a reading count, not a comparison with another build.", "excel_build": "16.0 build 20430", "platform": "Windows, 64-bit, CPU not recorded", "sources": [ "https://github.com/DnaCalc/ExcelFunctionsHandbook/blob/5dc75391aa5125ccc5abdb095da85950980d6fd8/content/evidence/environments/FUNC.ISBLANK.json" ] } ] }