Apple Numbers MINA: Minimum Values with Text and Boolean Inputs

• Introduced: The original release and introduction date are not established by the checked references.
• Availability: Currently documented in Apple’s Functions Help 15.4 documentation edition. No final supported-version endpoint is established.
• Scope: Shared iWork reference; exact historical availability in individual Mac, iPad, iPhone and iCloud builds remains unverified.
• Checked: October 14, 2026, against the official MINA reference. Examples checked by independent typed-value and selection models; no native Numbers test.

=MINA(value, value…)

Supply at least one value or collection; additional values or collections are optional. Apple’s reference maps referenced text and FALSE to 0, and TRUE to 1. A string may be supplied through a cell reference, but not directly as a string argument.

Date/time inputs cannot be mixed with other types; the same homogeneous-type restriction applies to durations. This guide’s mixed-type examples contain only numbers, text and booleans.

MIN ignores referenced text and boolean cells instead. That distinction matters when every actual numeric observation is positive.

Create a Numbers table named MinCases, with six columns and nine rows including a header row. Put Input 1, Input 2, Input 3, MINA, MIN and Explanation in A1:F1. Enter A2:C9 below, using =TRUE() and =FALSE() for the boolean entries and plain unquoted text for words.

Put =MINA(A2:C2) in D2 and =MIN(A2:C2) in E2. Fill D2:E2 through row 9. Use F only for explanatory notes, outside the source cells.

Rows 2–4 distinguish a text placeholder, boolean FALSE and boolean TRUE. The first two contribute zero; the third contributes one. Row 5 shows that converting TRUE to one does not make it the smallest value when a smaller numeric fraction exists.

Row 6 still returns −8 because it is below the text-derived zero. Row 7 contains an actual numeric zero, while row 9 obtains zero solely from its text cell. Equal outputs can therefore have different explanations. Row 9 is Apple’s positive-number/text example.

Create a two-column table named MinControls, with five rows. Enter these formulas in B2:B5:

For Apple’s other mixed example, make a separate five-column, two-row table named NegativeExample. Put −1, −10 and hello in A2:C2; enter =MINA(A2:C2) in E2. Expect −10. A text-derived zero does not erase a genuinely lower numeric value.

These controls supply booleans directly but text through cells, matching the documented distinction. They do not establish every conversion for numeric-looking strings or empty-string formulas.

Create a separate table named RequiredFlags, with six columns and five rows. Put Record, Documents, Payment, Quality, Numeric all and Logical all in A1:F1. Enter labels R1–R4 in A2:A5 and real booleans in B2:D5:

Enter =MINA(B2:D2) in E2 and =AND(B2,C2,D2) in F2. Fill E2:F2 through row 5. With these complete boolean inputs, the smallest mapped value is one only when all three flags are true. AND expresses the same logical requirement directly.

This numeric pattern should not silently replace data validation. A text placeholder contributes zero, and a negative numeric entry can produce a result below zero. MINA does not itself restrict values to a 0/1 flag domain or confirm that a real review occurred.

A placeholder-derived zero can look like a free quote, instant service or zero measurement even when no such number was observed. Use MIN when referenced nonnumeric content should be ignored, or MINIFS when eligibility follows explicit conditions. Neither choice establishes that the remaining data is complete or correct.

The short MINA reference does not enumerate every blank/error case or exact native error message. Do not assume that clearing a cell, entering a space and returning "" from a formula have identical effects. Keep those boundary questions separate from the fully populated examples above.

Use table-qualified references selected through Numbers’ formula editor when working across tables. Check regional argument separators before pasting a multi-argument formula.

MAXA chooses the largest mapped value. Its result can differ from MINA even though the underlying input conversion rules are the same.