Modifying Excel's Error Messages

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If you've ever tried to set up a formula to divide in Excel before you've entered the data, you've probably seen this error:

#DIV/0!

Not only is it a fairly cryptic error message, its also an extremely ugly thing to see in a worksheet. The ISERROR function can remedy that.

The ISERROR function works by essentially allowing you to write your own custom error message in the ISERROR function.

In the case of the divide by zero error, there could be any number of legitimate reasons that cause the error. For example, you may be setting up a template, or perhaps you're setting up a formula that requires information from each day of the month before it can be completed. Whatever the reason, the way Excel displays errors often lacks finesse.

So, to change the divide by zero error message we can use ISERROR in conjunction with the IF function. Assuming we are trying to divide cell A1 by cell B1, the ISERROR function will look like this:

=IF(ISERROR(SUM A1/B1)), "Insufficient Data", (SUM A1/B1))

What this is saying is, if dividing cell A1 by cell B1 causes an error (any error at all), then put the phrase "Insufficient Data" into this cell, otherwise put the result of the function (SUM A1/B1) into this cell.

ISERROR works to modify all errors including #DIV/0!, #VALUE!, etc. ISERROR can be used in conjunction with any Excel function to modify error messages so that they look more "user friendly".