VARA Function (Calligra Sheets)

• Introduced: First release not established; the name is present in Calligra 2.4.0 source.
• Supported in: Calligra Sheets 26.08.2, with no retirement established.
• Scope: Desktop Sheets with the Statistical module. Examples use English semicolon-separated formulas.
• Checked: October 14, 2026. Selected formulas ran through the official 25.04.2 engine library. Source and independent mathematics were checked. This is engine evidence, with no GUI-cell or import verification; 26.08.2 was source-checked only.

VARA calculates sample variance after full-value conversion. Numeric strings are parsed as numbers, other strings contribute zero, and TRUE/FALSE contribute 1/0 in the tested English engine. It divides squared deviations by n−1, so it needs at least two included observations. Function-specific official reference.

=VARA(value1[;value2;...])

Supply at least one argument, which may be a value, array or range. A defined sample variance requires at least two included observations. The source count includes strings and booleans. Brackets indicate optional arguments and are not entered in the formula. Registration and implementation.

The engine and mathematical columns are separate. Results are rounded to twelve decimal places, or thirteen significant digits in scientific notation for very small or large values. This is a display choice, not an accuracy guarantee. Inline arrays in braces are formula values, not a workbook-import test. Their semicolons separate columns and vertical bars separate rows. Strings remain explicitly quoted, and booleans use TRUE()/FALSE().

For numeric values 1,2,3, =VARA(1;2;3) gives 1. For 1,2,text “9”, the parsed mean is 4 and squared deviations total 38, so sample variance is 19. Replacing “9” with “abc” produces the list 1,2,0 and variance 1.

Variance has squared input units. If a familiar spread in original units is needed, the square root is a standard deviation; do not simply change the number format or label.

For n observations, the full-value population variance is sample variance×(n−1)/n. With 1,2,3, sample variance is 1 and population variance is 2/3. The executed =VARA(1;2;3)-STDEVA(1;2;3)^2 gives zero.

Multiplying all numeric values by 2 multiplies variance by 4, and a common shift leaves it unchanged. An added explicit empty string contributes a zero and changes the count: VARA(1;2;3;"") gives 5/3. That is a changed dataset, not an empty observation ignored by the function.

The executed advanced check was:

=VARA(1;2;3)-STDEVA(1;2;3)^2

Its engine result was 0.

A singleton gives #VALUE!, including a single string or logical value. This differs from STDEVA’s singleton #DIV/0! despite their mathematical relationship on valid data. Constant lists with at least two observations give zero; existing input errors propagate once the count guard is passed.

• Function-specific implementation
• Versioned function help
• Defaults helper
• Aggregation helper
• Average helper
• Deviations helper
• Conversion helper
• Array Parser helper

The statistical module and value-calculation helpers are byte-identical between the inspected 25.04.2 and 26.08.2 sources. That comparison supports the source discussion but does not establish later-version execution, GUI-cell behavior or other locales.

VAR, VARP, STDEV.