How to Return Blank Cell Instead of Zero in Excel

To return a blank cell instead of zero in Excel, you can use the IF function in combination with the logical function. The IF function allows you to perform a logical test and return one value if the condition is true and another value if the condition is false.

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to use the IF function to return a blank cell instead of zero in Excel:

1. Open your Excel workbook and navigate to the worksheet containing the data you want to modify.
2. Identify the cell containing the formula that results in a zero value when you want it to be blank instead.
3. Click on the cell and add the IF function to the existing formula. The IF function has the following syntax:

=IF(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false])

4. In this case, you want to test if the result of the existing formula is equal to zero. If it is, you want to return a blank cell, and if it's not, you want to return the original result. Modify the formula as follows:

=IF(your_formula=0, "", your_formula)

Replace your_formula with the existing formula in the cell.

Example

Let's say you have a worksheet with the following data in cells A1 through B3:

A       B
--------------
1    10
2     0
3    20

You want to divide the values in column A by the values in column B and display the results in column C. Normally, you would use a formula like =A1/B1. However, since you don't want to display zero values, you can use the IF function as follows:

1. Click on cell C1 and enter the following formula:

=IF(B1=0, "", A1/B1)

2. Press Enter to apply the formula.
3. Copy the formula in cell C1 to cells C2 and C3 by clicking on the bottom right corner of cell C1 and dragging it down to cell C3.

Now column C will display the division results without showing zeros:

C
------
0.1
(blank)
1.5

In this example, cell C2 is blank instead of displaying a zero value.