PlanMaker DAVERAGE Function: Average selected database records

=DAVERAGE(DatabaseArea, Column, SearchCriteriaArea)

The result is the arithmetic mean. DatabaseArea contains the header row and records beneath it. Column identifies the result field by its quoted header, such as "Amount", or by its one-based position inside the database. SearchCriteriaArea contains its own header row and the condition rows below it. Keep header spelling consistent and avoid ambiguous duplicate database headers.

In A11:D20, Amount is field 4, regardless of where a copied database starts on the worksheet. Thus =DAVERAGE(A11:D20,4,A1:A2) targets the same field as the quoted-header form. A wrong field number or a header that does not identify a database column is not a request to scan every column.

Create the database in A11:D20, including the header row. Enter pending as text, leave D18 genuinely empty, and enter D20 as logical TRUE, not the text string "TRUE". The mixed types are intentional so that the example reveals which records contribute to the result.

Put Region in A1 and East in A2. This is the two-cell criteria range A1:A2. Keep it above the database, with no overlap: that placement is explicitly required by the FreeOffice 2024 database-function instructions. The database header belongs inside the first range; the criteria header belongs inside the third range.

Now enter =DAVERAGE(A11:D20,"Amount",A1:A2) in J2. Leave the source cells unchanged while checking the result.

The matching records are IDs 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 9. Their Amount cells contain 10, 20, 30, text pending, a genuine blank, and logical TRUE. The numeric-only model uses 10, 20, and 30, so (10 + 20 + 30)/3 = 20. The result is not 60/6 = 10: matching a row and contributing a numeric value are separate steps.

These small criteria blocks use the same database. Enter comparisons such as >=1 as criterion text, not as formulas that return TRUE or FALSE.

Conditions in the same criteria row are joined by AND. Separate criteria rows are alternatives joined by OR. Repeating a field header in two columns lets two bounds apply to the same field. Keep the range exactly as shown: an additional blank criteria row can change selection behavior and is not a harmless spacer.

The first and third blocks select IDs 1 and 2 as their numeric contributors, giving amounts 10 and 20. The OR block selects all records once, with numeric amounts 10, 20, 30, -5, 0, 40. Text and logical content matter separately for DCOUNTA. These row lists make the expected results independently reproducible without relying on another spreadsheet engine.

An average can look reasonable even when the underlying numeric coverage is incomplete. In this dataset six East records match the criteria, but only three have numeric amounts. Place =DCOUNT(A11:D20,"Amount",A1:A2) beside the average to show the numeric count, and =DCOUNT(A11:D20,,A1:A2) to show the matching-record count. Their independently expected values are 3 and 6. Treat the difference as a data-quality question, not as permission to replace missing amounts with zero.

The two regions also illustrate why unweighted subgroup averages can mislead. The East numeric mean is 20 across three numbers. West has -5, 0, and 40, giving 35/3 ≈ 11.6666666667. Here each region happens to have three numeric values, so their simple average equals the combined 95/6. With unequal numeric counts, combine the numeric totals and counts instead of averaging group averages equally.

The zero in the West data is a valid numeric observation. It belongs in the denominator and can change the mean; a genuine blank does not supply a zero amount in the numeric-only calculation.

A no-match result can look like a valid mean: in this tested build, the South criteria D5:D6 return numeric 0, even though no records match and there is no mathematical mean to report. Pair DAVERAGE with DCOUNT on the same field and criteria: a numeric count of zero warns that the mean is not meaningful. The separate case of matching records containing only nonnumeric amounts was not tested, so its behavior is not inferred.

A weighted mean is a different calculation. DAVERAGE has no weights argument, so each contributing numeric amount has equal weight. Dates are stored numerically, but averaging date serials produces a midpoint-like date rather than a count of events; keep the selected field’s units meaningful.

For a no-match check, put Region in D5 and South in D6 and use D5:D6 as the criteria range. For field validation, replacing "Amount" with "Missing" deliberately requests a nonexistent header. Keep those checks separate: an empty selection and a malformed request are different situations.

Use an exact criteria range rather than selecting entire columns. Preserve genuine blanks when building this example; do not type the explanatory text from the table into D18. Wildcards, formula criteria, case sensitivity, error-valued records, and text-number coercion are not established by these bounded examples.

In FreeOffice PlanMaker 2024 rev F1238.1005, =DAVERAGE(A11:D20,"Amount",F5:F6) returns 95/6 (displayed approximately 15.833333) when F5 contains Region and F6 is genuinely empty. This blank condition selects the entire database in this tested layout. Keep the criteria range narrow so an unintended blank condition does not broaden the question.

The nonexistent field request =DAVERAGE(A11:D20,"Missing",A1:A2) returns #REF! in the same build. These specific results are native observations, not an error-code specification for all malformed databases or criteria.

The examples use English function names and comma separators from the official help. Follow the separators accepted by your installed locale. Database and criteria references are ordinary cell ranges; a worksheet’s visible filter state is not a substitute for the explicit third argument. When copying formulas, lock ranges with dollar signs if they should not move.

AVERAGE; DCOUNT; DCOUNTA.

FreeOffice PlanMaker 2024 rev F1238.1005: selected cell J2 contains =DAVERAGE(A11:D20,"Amount",A1:A2) and displays 20. The screenshot shows the criteria above the database, the genuinely blank Amount at D18, and Boolean TRUE at D20. Additional result rows show AND, OR, repeated-field criteria, and boundary checks.

The official FreeOffice PlanMaker 2024 DAVERAGE reference and shared database instructions were checked October 18, 2026. They establish the documented interface and criteria construction. The first introduction release is unknown from these references; current documentation does not establish deprecation, retirement, or identical support in every edition.

The 8 selected formulas for this function were tested on October 18, 2026 in FreeOffice PlanMaker 2024 rev F1238.1005, 64-bit. The native PMDX workbook was saved, closed, and reopened with formulas and results preserved; the typed input grid was checked, including the genuine blanks and Boolean TRUE. Independent row selection and arithmetic agree with the bounded expected results. Advanced coverage ratios, combined spreads, subgroup explanations, and additional suggested formulas are independent reasoning rather than separately executed native tests. Proprietary implementation code has not been inspected, and these observations do not establish behavior for every data type, range, edition, or file format.