ISNA Function in Excel

The ISNA function is a type of error handling function in Excel. It helps to find out whether any cell has “#N/A error” or not. This function returns the value “true” if “#N/A error” is identified. It returns “false” if there is any value other than “#N/A error.”

The ISNA function is a part of the IS functions. It helps in handling “#N/A errors,” analyzing data, and making comparisons.

Syntax

Parameters

It is clear from the preceding syntax that the ISNA formula in Excel has only one parameter. It is explained as follows:

• Value: The value can be another function, formula, cell, or value that needs to be tested. It is a very flexible parameter.

The ISNA function in Excel returns the following values:

• True: If the “value” parameter returns “#N/A error” or,
• False: If the “value” parameter does not return “#N/A error”

The examples given in the subsequent section will further explain the ISNA function.

The goal of the ISNA function is to identify whether “#N/A error” exists in any cell, formula, value or not. “#N/A error” is more common in the formulas which require Excel to find something. If a formula looks for any value that does not exist, the system returns “#N/A error.”

It returns “true” or “false” based on the existence of “#N/A error.” This function helps Excel users deal with the “#N/A error” by replacing it with another value.

This section will explain the uses of the ISNA function with the help of examples containing actual data. As stated earlier, it uses only one mandatory parameter.

Example #1

In the following image, we have used the FIND function of Excel. It returns the position of the “i” character in cell A2.

So, the output of the FIND function is 7.

Now, let us pass the previous FIND function as a parameter.

Here, we have used the FIND function in the parameter which returns the output "7". ISNA function returns “false” because the output of the value parameter is not “#N/A error.”

Example #2

Let us pass “#N/A” directly as a parameter to the ISNA formula in Excel.

On directly passing “#N/A” as a parameter to the ISNA function, it returns the value “true.” This proves that ISNA detects “#N/A error” present in any cell.

Example #3

Let us pass “#VALUE!” as a parameter to the ISNA formula in Excel.

The “#VALUE!” parameter is also a data missing error. ISNA returns the value “false” because it does not detect any error other than “#N/A error.”

Example #4

In this example, we use the lookup function as a parameter of the ISNA function.

Here, the output that we get is “true.”