PlanMaker DELTA: Numeric Equality, Text Inputs and Match Flags
DELTA returns a numeric match flag for two supplied values. Use explicit pairs, distinguish numeric equality from text identity, and audit complete row-level controls.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
DELTA returns a numeric match flag for two supplied values. Use explicit pairs, distinguish numeric equality from text identity, and audit complete row-level controls.
Availability and verification
The PlanMaker 2026 manual, 2024 manual and 2021 manual were retrieved on October 15, 2026. They document this function in those manual families. They do not establish its original introduction or a last-working-version endpoint; both historical endpoints remain unverified. Support in every FreeOffice/mobile edition or individual desktop build is outside this check.
No native PlanMaker execution was performed. Expected values below are independently checked mathematical controls, not captured application results. Formulas use the English manual’s commas; verify localized names and separators in the installed product.
Exact syntax and argument scope
=DELTA(Number1, Number2)
The checked PlanMaker references show both arguments. They do not mark Number2 optional or establish a default of zero. Write =DELTA(A2,0) when zero is the intended comparison rather than relying on another product’s omitted-argument rule.
Equal numeric values return 1; unequal numeric values return 0. These are numbers, not the literal Boolean results TRUE and FALSE. The function does not subtract the values, return their percentage difference or perform a tolerance comparison.
Reproduce the four official controls
| Formula | Documented result |
|---|---|
=DELTA(1,2) |
0 |
=DELTA(2,2) |
1 |
=DELTA(2,"2") |
1 |
=DELTA("Text","Text") |
#VALUE! |
The last two examples are important together. Numeric text can be accepted, but matching arbitrary text strings do not make DELTA a text-equality function. The 2021 manual explicitly permits strings representing numbers; the 2024 and 2026 manuals discuss numeric strings including those returned by TEXT or conversion functions.
That statement does not prove every currency symbol, grouping separator, localized decimal mark, space or scientific-notation string is accepted. The simple string “2” is the documented control. For identifiers whose exact spelling matters, leading zeroes and text distinctions need a separately verified text comparison.
Complete row-by-row equality worksheet
Create EqualityAudit with Expected in A1, Observed in B1, Match_flag in C1 and Quantity in D1. Enter the numeric values below. Fill C2 =DELTA(A2,B2) through C7.
| Row | A: expected | B: observed | Expected C | D: quantity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | -3 | -3 | 1 | 7 |
| 6 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | 4 | 4.01 | 0 | 6 |
In C9 use =C2+C3+C4+C5+C6+C7; the expected number of matching rows is 4. In a copy change B3 from 13 to 12. C3 changes from 0 to 1, and the count becomes 5. The six pairs are fully specified, so there is no hidden cell needed to reproduce the check.
The zero pair and negative pair are ordinary numeric comparisons. Equal display formatting alone is not the test: 4 and 4.01 differ even if a zero-decimal format makes both appear as 4.
Advanced: weight matching rows without hiding the audit
Put Matching_quantity in E1 and fill E2 =C2*D2 through E7. With the original inputs the expected values are 5,0,3,7,2,0. Their sum, =E2+E3+E4+E5+E6+E7, is 17. After the B3 correction it becomes 25, adding that row’s quantity eight.
The flags explain which rows contributed. Keep C visible rather than compressing the whole calculation into an opaque expression. This arithmetic example does not infer a rule for approving records or resolving disagreements; it measures equality under the chosen numeric specification.
Advanced: construct a one-hot code check
On CodeAudit, enter numeric codes 101,102,103,101 in F2:F5. Put candidate codes 101,102,103 across G1:I1. Enter G2 =DELTA($F2,G$1) and fill across and down.
The expected rows are 1,0,0; 0,1,0; 0,0,1; 1,0,0. The dollar signs keep the source column and header row fixed while the other coordinate changes. Each row sums to one because the supplied code appears exactly once among the three distinct candidate headers.
If F3 changes to 104, its row becomes 0,0,0. A duplicate candidate header would also destroy the exactly-one-match guarantee. The guarantee follows from the visible code set, not from DELTA validating identifiers or completeness on its own.
Errors, precision and troubleshooting
Non-numeric text gives the documented #VALUE! error. Blank cells, Boolean coercion, arrays and upstream errors are not assigned additional exact behavior by this guide. Numeric-text parsing depends on details not fully specified in the short reference.
Do not assume arithmetic that is equal on paper always has an identical stored floating-point result. This guide makes no native claim for 0.1+0.2 versus 0.3. If the task calls for tolerance, choose and document a tolerance policy rather than describing DELTA as approximate equality. Before native use, recreate the explicit cells, inspect their types and precision, and verify results in the actual PlanMaker build.