Microsoft Excel 97 includes a new set of functions that are designed to be 100% compatible with a similar set of functions in Lotus 1-2-3. This article describes the new functions, which are called A functions (because the function names all end in A).

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The new A functions in Microsoft Excel 97 are: In general, the A functions treat text and logical values differently than the equivalent non-A functions in Microsoft Excel. The breakdown is as follows:

   Value type            Non-A functions       A functions
   ------------------------------------------------------------------

   Numbers               Treated normally      Treated normally
   Text                  Text is ignored       Text has a value of 0
   TRUE Logical Value    TRUE is ignored       TRUE has a value of 1
   FALSE Logical Value   FALSE is ignored      FALSE has a value of 0
				

Each A function is described in detail in the following sections.

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AVERAGEA and AVERAGE

The AVERAGEA function returns the average of its arguments, including numbers, text, and logical values. This differs from the AVERAGE function, which only returns the average of arguments that are numbers; text and logical values are ignored by the AVERAGE function.

Example:

If you type the following example data: the formula =AVERAGEA(A1:A5) returns the value 2, because TRUE has a value of 1, the text "hello" has a value of 0, the sum of 1, 2, 6, 1, and 0 is 10, and 10 divided by 5 is 2.

The formula =AVERAGE(A1:A5) returns the value 3, which is the average of the numbers in the range.

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MINA and MAXA, and MIN and MAX

The MINA and MAXA functions return the minimum and maximum values in a list of arguments, including numbers, text, and logical values. The standard MIN and MAX functions, return the minimum and maximum values in a list of arguments, but they only consider numeric values. Text and logical values are ignored by the MIN and MAX functions.

Using the example data in the AVERAGEA and AVERAGE section, consider the following formulas.

   Formula       Return value   Reason
   --------------------------------------------------------------------

   =MINA(A1:A5)  0              The text "hello" has a value of 0.
   =MIN(A1:A5)   1              The smallest numeric value in the range
                                is 1.
   =MINA(A1:A3)  1              The range includes only numeric values,
                                and the smallest value is 1.
   =MAXA(A1:A5)  6              The largest value in the range is 6.
   =MAX(A1:A5)   6              The largest value in the range is 6.
				

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STDEVA and STDEV

The STDEVA function returns an estimate of the standard deviation of a sample. If the sample includes text and/or logical values, these are included in the standard deviation calculation. The STDEV function also returns the standard deviation of a sample, but only numeric values within the sample are considered.

Using the sample data in the AVERAGEA and AVERAGE section, the formula =STDEVA(A1:A5) returns the value 2.3452; the formula =STDEV(A1:A5) returns the value 2.6458. The difference between the results is due to the fact that the STDEVA function considers all values in the range when creating its sample, not just the numeric values.

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STDEVPA and STDEVP

The STDEVPA function returns the standard deviation of the entire population of a range, including text and logical values. The STDEVP function returns the standard deviation of all of the numeric values in the range.

Using the sample data in the AVERAGEA and AVERAGE section, the formula =STDEVPA(A1:A5) returns the value 2.0976, and the formula =STDEVP(A1:A5) returns the value 2.1602.

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VARA and VAR

The VARA function returns an estimate of the variance of a sample, including text and logical values. The VAR function returns an estimate of a sample using only numeric values contained in the sample.

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VARPA and VARP

The VARPA function returns the variance of a range of values, including text and logical values. The VARP function also returns the variance of a range of values, but only numeric values are used in the calculation.

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For more information about the A functions, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel Help, type the following text and then double-click the selected text to go to the "MAXA" topic.

Repeat the above procedure for information about the other A functions.

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