PlanMaker AVERAGEA Function: Average Numbers, Text and Boolean Values

Both report an arithmetic mean, but their denominators can differ. In PlanMaker’s documentation, AVERAGEA converts a TRUE to 1, a FALSE to 0, and text to 0; genuinely empty cells do not add a counted value. AVERAGE ignores text and logical values in referenced cells. Consequently, a status column that mixes scores, Boolean approvals and text comments may produce a much lower AVERAGEA result than AVERAGE, even though there is no arithmetic mistake. [S1]

For a numerical-only sample, they yield the same answer. For a survey where text means missing rather than zero, do not choose AVERAGEA automatically; its deliberate zero treatment may misrepresent the data. Use AVERAGE or explicitly clean/convert the data as appropriate.

=AVERAGEA(Value1 [, Value2, Value3 ...])

The manual supplies no separate weighting, skip-text or ignore-logicals switch, and it does not establish in this section a PlanMaker-specific maximum argument count. A reference to an empty cell is not a numeric zero; an actual 0 remains part of the denominator. TRUE/FALSE here refer to logical data types, not the letters T/R/U/E in an ordinary text field. [S1]

The syntax above reproduces the English manual with comma-separated arguments. PlanMaker documents regional decimal and thousands separator settings, but the exact function-list punctuation for every installation/locale has not been tested; follow the separator shown by the installed formula editor. [S2]

Enter these values, one per cell (do not type quotation marks):

In B2, enter =AVERAGEA(A2:A5); expected 1.5. In B3, enter =AVERAGE(A2:A5); expected 1.6666666667. The first value and the AVERAGE comparison are both explicit examples in SoftMaker’s manual; formula cell locations here are chosen just for reproduction. [S1]

Enter the following B column data manually:

=AVERAGEA(B2:B6) has an independently calculated expectation of 45: (100+80+0+0)/4, ignoring the truly empty fifth cell. =AVERAGE(B2:B6) has the independent expectation of 90 from (100+80)/2. This example makes the denominator visible and tests whether an apparent zero is an actual value, text, or an empty reference. [S1, C1]

Important distinction: B6 above is a never-filled or cleared cell. A formula returning the empty string "" is not necessarily equivalent to a genuinely blank cell for every engine or version; PlanMaker’s cited entry does not establish that special case. Test it natively before documenting it as a universal rule.

Suppose cells D2:D6 contain 10, 5, 0, TRUE, and not scored (that last item is text). Then =AVERAGEA(D2:D6) is expected to return 3.2: (10+5+0+1+0)/5; =AVERAGE(D2:D6) is expected 5: (10+5+0)/3. Use the first only when assigning a zero to not-scored text and a one to approved flags is a deliberate business rule. [S1, C1]

For a cleaner reporting workflow, keep measurement values in one numeric column and statuses in a separate text or Boolean column. This improves auditability; it is a data-model recommendation, not a claim that PlanMaker will coerce every imported CSV identically.

A useful review worksheet places =AVERAGEA(A2:A5) next to =AVERAGE(A2:A5) and labels the results mixed-value mean and numeric-only mean. A large gap is a prompt to inspect Boolean or text entries. It does not prove the inputs are wrong. A SUM of the numeric entries divided by a documented count can also express a deliberately different business rule; do not substitute such a calculation without deciding how statuses should count.

When importing a sheet from a different program, inspect real data types, not cell appearance. A cell displaying 0 because of number formatting, a text cell containing "0", a logical FALSE, and a blank cell can have different effects. [S1, S2]

If the input range contains no countable items, a mean’s denominator is zero by definition; however, the vendor extract reviewed here does not explicitly specify the displayed error string for that boundary condition. It remains a targeted native test, not an invented observation.

The PlanMaker 2026/NX manual expressly documents AVERAGEA with the example above. The manual covers Windows/macOS/Linux and discusses mobile interfaces; this review does not demonstrate execution or identical behavior in individual software editions, operating systems, or mobile releases. Excel independently documents a function named AVERAGEA, with similar syntax and input-type considerations. Excel’s documentation is evidence about Excel, not a substitute for PlanMaker tests. In particular, edge treatment of imported text or "" needs an actual workbook round-trip to claim exact parity. [S1, E1]

• PlanMaker AVERAGE: contrasting numeric-only mean.
• PlanMaker AVERAGEIF / AVERAGEIFS: conditional averaging.
• Official PlanMaker 2026 manual: [S1] printed pp. 540–541, AVERAGE and AVERAGEA; [S2] printed pp. 64 and 461, data/locale settings.
• Microsoft Excel AVERAGEA reference: [E1], a separate application reference; checked for nomenclature/compatibility only.

[S1] SoftMaker Software GmbH, PlanMaker Manual, SoftMaker Office 2026 and NX, function entries AVERAGE/AVERAGEA, printed pp. 540–541. https://www.softmaker.net/down/pm2026manual_en.pdf. Supports exact argument sequence, Boolean/text/blank treatment and the 1.5 vs 1.66667 example.

[S2] SoftMaker Software GmbH, same manual, Entering data and Customizing PlanMaker, printed pp. 64 and 461. Same verified PDF. Supports locale-dependent decimal settings only; does not establish per-locale function argument delimiters.

[E1] Microsoft, AVERAGEA function (Excel). https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/functions/averagea-function. Separate Excel name/syntax reference, not PlanMaker runtime evidence.

[C1] Independent manual arithmetic for the additional examples above, carried out 2026-10-13, UTC, separately from any PlanMaker application session. Output rounding as indicated. Native application tests: not performed.