The ISFORMULA is a Lookup & Reference function that checks whether the specified reference contains a formula. The function returns a Boolean value based on the outcome - TRUE if there is a formula, and FALSE if not. In this guide, we’re going to show you how to use ISFORMULA Excel function and also go over some tips and error handling methods.


Supported versions

  • Excel 2013 and later versions

Syntax

ISFORMULA(reference)


Arguments

reference

The cell or range reference you want to check.



Examples

Cell

=ISFORMULA(F3)
formula returns TRUE because there is a formula in cell F3. A string or number will not be considered formulas.

Range

When the ISFORMULA function is used with a range reference, it returns an array of formulas to referenced range. If you do not use the Ctrl + Shift + Enter key combination to generate an array, the formula will return only the first value. Alternatively, you can use a function that works with arrays to retrieve this information.

The following formula uses the INDEX function to get a formula on the 3rd row and 1st columns from an array. That array returns a range reference from the ISFORMULA function.

=INDEX(ISFORMULA(E10:E13),3,1)

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Tips

  • To see the formula string of a reference, use FORMULATEXT function instead.