Function note

DELTA and GESTEP read their second argument first

FUNC.DELTA · FUNC.ERF · FUNC.GESTEP

FN-DELTA-001: DELTA and GESTEP read their second argument first

Quirk · measured · recorded 2026-11-04

When both arguments of DELTA or GESTEP are bad, the error comes from the second one: DELTA(TRUE,#REF!) is #REF! and DELTA(#REF!,TRUE) is #VALUE!. With two errors, DELTA gives the second. ERF reads left to right: ERF(TRUE,#REF!) is #VALUE! and ERF(#REF!,TRUE) is #REF!. A logical is rejected in either position of these functions, whether typed or held in a cell: DELTA(TRUE,0) and DELTA(2,TRUE) are #VALUE!, and DELTA(B1,0) with TRUE in B1 is #VALUE!, while an empty B1 reads as 0 and gives 1.

Call and input routeInputsExcelCorrect valueRecorded in
=DELTA(TRUE,#REF!)
formula-literal		As typed#REF!—Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA
=DELTA(#REF!,TRUE)
formula-literal		As typed#VALUE!—Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA
=GESTEP(TRUE,#REF!)
formula-literal		As typed#REF!—Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA
=GESTEP(#REF!,TRUE)
formula-literal		As typed#VALUE!—Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA
=ERF(TRUE,#REF!)
formula-literal		As typed#VALUE!—Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA
=ERF(#REF!,TRUE)
formula-literal		As typed#REF!—Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA
DELTA(A1, A2)
cell-value2		number1: #N/A
number2: #REF!		#REF!—Excel 16.0.20527.20088, Windows, bitness and CPU not recorded in this reading file
=DELTA(B1,0)
cell-value2		B1: TRUE#VALUE!—Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA
=DELTA(B1,0)
cell-value2		B1: (empty cell)1
0x3ff0000000000000		—Excel 16.0.20527.20088 Current Channel, Windows 64-bit (NT 10.0.26200), x86-64, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, en-ZA

Basis: 16 recorded DELTA and GESTEP formula readings, 8 readings each with errors and text held in cells, and the ERF companions on the same sheets. GESTEP gave the same pattern as DELTA in every pair.

Evidence and capture sources

Machine-readable note records