Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Using the ABS Function.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 15, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
If you need to determine the absolute value of a number, you use the ABS worksheet function. It returns the positive equivalent of any value referenced. Thus, if you wanted the absolute value of what is in cell B7, you would use the following:
=ABS(B7)
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8771) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Using the ABS Function.
Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!
When you need to count a number of cells based upon a single criteria, the standard function to use is COUNTIF. This tip ...
Discover MoreYou may use Excel's trigonometric functions to do some quick calculations, and suddenly notice that the results in your ...
Discover MoreWhen applying trigonometry to the values in a worksheet, you may need to convert radians to degrees. This is done by ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2020-04-27 11:03:03
Craig Abt
I use the abs function when adding validations to my worksheets. For example, if I turn a pivot summary from a data table that gets updated montly, I'll add a "check" cell containing something like the following formula:
=if(abs(cell ref of pivot table total - cell ref of data table total)<1,"ok","error")
if I have addl time, I'll also add conditional formatting to the above cell such that it displays red fill for "error" and green fill for "ok"
Thanks for your tips
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here:
Comments