A direct error stops these array functions; the same error in an array or cell is an element

FN-HSTACK-001: A direct error stops these array functions; the same error in an array or cell is an element

Quirk · measured · recorded 2026-11-04

An error written directly as an argument of these functions is the answer for the whole call. It is not placed in the result: HSTACK(1,#VALUE!) is #VALUE!, not a row holding 1 and an error, and TAKE(#N/A,0) is #N/A. With MAP the LAMBDA does not run at all: MAP(NA(),LAMBDA(xx,IFERROR(xx,3))) is #N/A. The same error inside an array, or in a referenced cell, is an ordinary element: MAP({#N/A},LAMBDA(xx,3)) is 3, and HSTACK(Data!C1,{1;2}) with #N/A in Data!C1 is a 2 by 2 array with #N/A in its first column. TOCOL and TOROW show the difference with ignore 2: TOCOL(#N/A,2) is #N/A, while TOCOL({#N/A},2) drops the error, has nothing left, and is #CALC!. EXPAND is an exception on the cell side: EXPAND(Data!C1,2,2,"pad") is #N/A for the whole call. BYROW and BYCOL check the direct error first too: BYROW(#N/A,#VALUE!) is #N/A, while BYROW({#N/A},2), where 2 is not a LAMBDA, is #VALUE!.

Basis: 27 recorded readings in dynamic-array Excel, each with size observers.

Open: Competing errors in later positions have not been read in a published capture.