The ISFORMULA function

The ISFORMULA function is an information function which will return either TRUE or FALSE if the selected cell contains a formula, regardless of what it evaluates to, or if it contains any form of static value.

This is the format of the ISFORMULA function:

=ISFORMULA(REFERENCE OR FORMULA)

Here is an example of the ISFORMULA function:

=ISFORMULA(C3) = FALSE

ISFORMULA returning TRUE when referencing a cell which contains a formula

This function is valuable when adding specific data validation to a file. This could be due to it being a test or assessment where a dashboard is compiling results where on criteria is if formulas were used.

An example of a functional implementation of this would be in the creation of a document to assess the current skill levels of employees/clients with Excel or your spreadsheet application of choice. Using ISFORMULA you can easily validate that users have completed the assessment as per the instructions given.

=IF(ISFORMULA(C3), “Formula has been used”, “Warning! No Formula detected”)