Issue 118236 - ISBLANK() returns FALSE instead of #VALUE!
Summary: ISBLANK() returns FALSE instead of #VALUE!
Status: CONFIRMED
Alias: None
Product: Calc
Classification: Application
Component: ui (show other issues)
Version: 3.3.0 or older (OOo)
Hardware: PC Windows, all
: P3 Normal (vote)
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: AOO issues mailing list
QA Contact: Rob Weir
URL:
Keywords: needmoreinfo
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2011-07-01 14:38 UTC by grummund
Modified: 2014-03-19 11:35 UTC (History)
4 users (show)

See Also:
Issue Type: DEFECT
Latest Confirmation in: ---
Developer Difficulty: ---

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Description grummund 2011-07-01 14:38:29 UTC 
First an example of correct behaviour using ABS():

  Create new blank spreadsheet
  In cell A1 enter =ABS(B1:B2)
  In cell A2 enter =ABS(B1:B2)
  In cell A3 enter =ABS(B1:B2)

  Result:  A1=0, A2=0, A3=#VALUE!  (this is correct)

Now an example of failure with ISBLANK():

  Create new blank spreadsheet
  In cell A1 enter =ISBLANK(B1:B2)
  In cell A2 enter =ISBLANK(B1:B2)
  In cell A3 enter =ISBLANK(B1:B2)

  Result:  A1=TRUE, A2=TRUE, A3=FALSE.

Problem: A3 should be #VALUE! because the target range is invalid.


Note: Excel is reported to have the same behaviour, but that does not make it correct. :p
Comment 1 Regina Henschel 2011-07-02 12:35:19 UTC 
Standard is,
"Summary: Return TRUE if the referenced cell is blank, else return FALSE"

It does not state that an error value is not propagated, but 'else' can be read to cover all other cases including error values. Gnumeric returns FALSE too. So I see no need to change the behavior. The ODF1.2 draft is in public comment state. You might report to OASIS, that the specification is unclear for the error value case.
Comment 3 Oliver-Rainer Wittmann 2012-06-13 12:29:47 UTC 
getting rid of value "enhancement" for field "severity".
For enhancement the field "issue type" shall be used.
Comment 4 Rob Weir 2013-02-02 14:54:30 UTC 
I'm missing something here.  Why is the range B1:B2 invalid when references from cell A3, but not when references from A1 or A2?  It is the same range either way, yes?
Comment 5 Edwin Sharp 2013-11-28 10:33:08 UTC 
Results of description are obtained with Calc 4.1 and Excel 2010.
IMHO true correct behavior should not allow cell range for the functions ABS and ISBLANK. These functions are intended according both Calc and Excel help to apply on "a cell" - not plural.

AOO410m1(Build:9750)  -  Rev. 1543812
Rev.1543812
Win 7
Comment 6 Rainer Bielefeld 2014-03-19 11:35:23 UTC 
Version has been modified erroneous, so back to most early version