How to Check the Type of Data in an Excel Cell
Excel’s TYPE function is one of the information functions that can be used to find out information about a specific cell, worksheet, or workbook. The TYPE function reveals the type of data located in a specific cell, but it doesn’t determine whether a cell contains a formula.
Open the Dialog Box
This information covers the steps used to enter the TYPE function into cell B2 of the chart below using the function’s dialog box.
Click on cell B2 to make it the active cell - the location where the function results will be displayed; Click on the Formulas tab of the ribbon menu; Choose More Functions > Information from the ribbon to open the function drop-down list; Click on TYPE in the list to bring up that function’s dialog box.
Enter the Function’s Argument
Click on cell A2 in the worksheet to enter the cell reference into the dialog box; Click OK to complete the function and return to the worksheet; The number “1” should appear in cell B2 to indicate that the type of data in cell A2 is a number; When you click on cell B2, the complete function =TYPE(A2) appears in the formula bar above the worksheet.
What the Type Function Results Mean
Arrays and Type 64
In order to get the TYPE function to return a result of 64, indicating that the type of data is an array - the array must be entered directly into the function as the Value argument, rather than using the cell reference to the array’s location.
As shown in rows 9 and 10, the TYPE function returns the result of 64 no matter whether the array contains numbers or text.
The TYPE Function’s Syntax and Arguments
A function’s syntax refers to the layout of the function and includes the function’s name, brackets, and arguments.
The syntax for the TYPE function is:
= TYPE ( Value )
Value: (required) Can be any type of data such as a number, text or array. This argument can also be a cell reference to the location of the value in a worksheet.
Type Function Options
Options for entering the function and its arguments include:
Typing the complete function: =TYPE(A2) into cell B2 Selecting the function and its arguments using the TYPE function dialog box
Although it is possible to just type the complete function by hand, many people find it easier to use the dialog box to enter the function’s arguments.
Using this approach, the dialog box takes care of such things as entering the equal sign, the brackets, and, when necessary, the commas that act as separators between multiple arguments.
