Sum and Average questions

[Josh W.]

When I'm using the SUM function for a template, it adds all the BLANKS,
counting them as ZERO. This is throwing off my AVERAGES, since I
want BLANK cells to remain blank.

What do I have to do so that BLANKS do not count as ZERO?

Thanks

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Hi

I'm not sure what you are doing to calculate the averages.

If you use the cell formula AVERAGE(A1...A12) for example, Excel will not
include blank cells in the calculation.

Are the cells actually blank or do you have cell formulas in them? Make sure
you have "zero values" checked on the View tab of Excel's preferences so you
can see whether or not the cells in question are actually blank or not.

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

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[Bernard REY]

Josh W. wrote :

When I'm using the SUM function for a template, it adds all the BLANKS,
counting them as ZERO. This is throwing off my AVERAGES, since I
want BLANK cells to remain blank.

What do I have to do so that BLANKS do not count as ZERO?

This formula is one way to do this:
=SUM(A1:A4)/COUNT(A1:A4)