Microsoft Excel Tutorial: Why is the sum in Excel showing zero?
Do you have a column of numbers that won't sum in Excel? It is most likely that the numbers have been stored as text. Here are two quick ways to convert those text numbers and the numbers will then sum.
One frustrating behavior when this happens: =SUM(A2:A4) is zero, but =A2+A3+A4 calculates correctly. That is because the plus sign coerces a number out of the text, but the SUM function is programmed to ignore text.
Welcome to my #Shorts video where we tackle the common issue of why Excel SUM returns zero. As a Microsoft Excel expert, I've seen this question pop up time and time again. You're trying to use the autosum or Alt+Equals function to add up some numbers, but instead of getting the expected result, you're left with a big fat zero. Frustrating, right?
Well, fear not my fellow Excel users, because I'm here to shed some light on this issue. The most common reason for Excel SUM returning zero is that the numbers you're trying to add are actually stored as text. This can happen if you copy and paste data from another source or if you accidentally type a space before or after the number. But don't worry, the solution is simple.
All you have to do is select the cells with the numbers, open the drop-down menu, and choose "Convert To Number." This will convert the text into actual numbers and your SUM function will work like a charm. But what if the drop-down menu is not available? Don't panic, there's still a way to fix it. You can use the "Text To Columns" feature under the Data tab, select "Delimited," and click "Finish." This will also convert the text into numbers and your SUM function will be back in action.
Buy Bill Jelen's latest Excel book: mrexcel.com/products/latest/
You can help my channel by clicking Like or commenting below: mrexcel.com/like-mrexcel-on-youtube/
This video answers these common search terms:
Why Excel SUM is zero.
Why Excel Sum function not working.
Why Excel SUM returns 0.
Why Excel Sum is wrong.
Why Excel Sum shows 0.
Why Excel Not Showing Sum.
Why Excel Sum Formula Not working.
Table of Contents
(0:00) Problem Statement: Why Excel Sum is Zero
(0:10) AutoSum returns zero. Why?
(0:20) Using =A1+A2+A3 works
(0:30) Drop-down to change text numbers to number
(0:40) Previously chose Ignore Error?
(0:50) Clicking Like really helps the algorithm
Join the MrExcel Message Board discussion about this video at mrexcel.com/board/threads/1216143/
- Excel - Why Excel SUM is Zero #Shorts #microsoftexcel #excel - Episode S0003 ( Download)
- Why Sum Function Returns 0 in Excel ( Download)
- 3 Reasons Why Excel Formulas Won’t Calculate + How to Fix – Excel Tutorial ( Download)
- Excel SUM Function Not Working ( Download)
- Excel SUM and SUMIF Formula in Excel ( Download)
- How to Stop Zero when Copying Blank Cells in Excel ( Download)
- IF Negative Then Zero / Quick Formula / Microsoft Excel ( Download)
- How to Use Sum Function in Excel ( Download)
- Most important excel formulas tricks #exceltricks #excel #shorts #trending #education #vlookup ( Download)
- How NOT to Sum in Excel 😳 ( Download)
- How to use the SUMIF function in Microsoft Excel ( Download)
- How to Remove the Zeros in Excel #shorts ( Download)
- The Power Of SUM and AVERAGE In Excel ( Download)
- Excel not formatting cell contents as numbers, won't sum cells -decimal separator - comma and point ( Download)
- How to solve the problem of numbers not summing up in excel ( Download)
