MAX in SoftMaker PlanMaker: Syntax, Examples, and Troubleshooting

MAX returns the largest numeric value from given values, arrays or ranges. In the practice data below, =MAX(A2:A9) has an expected result of 30. Use MAX to identify a highest score, longest turnaround, largest expense, peak inventory movement or threshold exception without rearranging the original records.

=MAX(Number1 [, Number2, Number3 ...])

The displayed syntax is from PlanMaker’s MAX function reference. The square brackets denote optional additional arguments, not literal characters.

• Number1 (required): a number, reference, numeric range, or array to evaluate.
• Number2, Number3, … (optional): other values, numeric ranges or arrays to include. These arguments are additional candidates for the maximum, not filters or sorting directions.
• No default for Number1 is specified. The official help explicitly says references to empty, text and Boolean cells are ignored, while directly entered Boolean values may be taken into account.

For instance, =MAX(5,7,4,9) has expected output 9 in the official manual.

The 2021, 2024, and 2026 English PlanMaker manuals each list this named function and show the same argument order and the same relevant examples. This proves documentation availability in those three releases, not the first release in which the function existed. It does not establish identical behaviour for every edition, build, mobile app, or exported Excel file. PlanMaker’s 2026 product manual addresses a family of desktop and mobile platforms, but this guide has not verified this formula in an installed Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, or iOS build.

The printed examples below use English-locale comma argument separators exactly as the linked English reference does. PlanMaker also lets users configure number separators; decimal display and argument punctuation should be confirmed in the installed locale by inserting the function with Formula → Function if the printed formula is rejected. Do not blindly replace every comma if your environment uses a decimal comma. Enter formulas with a leading = and confirm with Enter.

Create a worksheet with the following eight numeric entries. The duplicate 7 is deliberate; all formulas below use the same values.

The sorted data are 7, 7, 9, 11, 14, 19, 23, 30. The sum is 120, and there are 8 numeric entries. The outputs below follow from these printed values; they were calculated independently, not obtained by running PlanMaker.

1. Enter the eight values in column A in their printed order.
2. Select B2, away from the values, and type =MAX(A2:A9).
3. Confirm with Enter.
4. Expected result: 30 days, from cell A6.

The result is independently checked against the dataset: 30 is greater than 23, 19, 14, 11, 9 and both sevens. This is an expected value, not a PlanMaker screenshot or runtime test.

Put 35 in B4 (a new order). In C4 enter:

=MAX(A2:A9,B4)

Expected result: 35. If B4 were 15, the expected result would be 30, because 30 remains the largest candidate. This is useful when incoming data is not adjacent to the original measured list.

A service standard says the longest lead time should be no more than 25 days. Put the following in B6:

=IF(MAX(A2:A9)>25,"Over service limit","Within service limit")

Expected output: Over service limit because 30 > 25. This does not identify the responsible order. To investigate, return to the source values and identifiers; MAX alone supplies the extreme, not its row.

Another descriptive statistic is the spread of fulfillment times:

=MAX(A2:A9)-MIN(A2:A9)

Expected result: 23 days (30 − 7). This is a range/spread measure, not a count of outliers. It uses two individually documented functions but was not executed inside PlanMaker.

SoftMaker’s MAX manual uses the following negative-value example:

• =MAX(A1:A3) → expected -1: a logical cell is ignored.
• =MAX(A1:A3,TRUE) → expected 1: directly typed TRUE counts as 1.
• =MAX(A1:A3,FALSE) → expected 0: directly typed FALSE counts as 0.

These outcomes are printed in the official MAX reference, not observed in a native test. Be particularly careful when the numeric data are all negative: a directly supplied FALSE value can change the maximum to zero.

• A maximum does not show which record achieved the result or whether more than one record tied.
• MAX is not a conditional maximum. The distinct 2026 function MAXIFS supports conditions, but its availability and compatibility require separate review for each target software release.
• Text and blank cells referenced in a range do not become numeric zero candidates merely because they appear in the range.

1. Formula displayed as text: confirm that the entry starts with = and the destination cell is not inadvertently treated as a literal text entry. Enter or re-enter the formula through PlanMaker’s function dialog if necessary.
2. Result does not match: verify the exact input cells, including accidental extra rows and any numbers stored as text after CSV import. Make sure the range is A2:A9 and not the header or an adjacent column.
3. Unexpected impact from blank or text cells: the official reference ignores blank cells and text/logical cell contents when reading ranges; that differs from entering a logical constant directly as an argument. The examples below do not assume that arbitrary text coerces to a number.
4. Wrong decimal display: check regional number separators and the cell’s number format before changing the formula. Changing the visual number of decimal places does not alter the underlying calculation.
5. Formula error or no useful result: inspect actual input types and brackets, and use the Formula → Function interface. Do not infer a specific error code from these notes: no native error-path execution has been performed.

This familiar function name and basic argument pattern also appear in Microsoft Excel and LibreOffice Calc; nevertheless, cross-application execution and workbook round trips were not tested. Check locale separators, literal-versus-reference handling for Boolean/text inputs, and import/export behavior before relying on identical results across products. Avoid claiming a verified Excel export rule for this function without a separate documented test.

• PlanMaker SORT — arrange the figures before inspecting extremes or middle values.
• PlanMaker SUBTOTAL — a different tool for calculations on filtered lists; it is not an equivalent replacement for every statistic on every dataset.
• PlanMaker IF — build a threshold label from a computed statistic.

• SoftMaker PlanMaker — function documentation
• Official PlanMaker 2024 function reference
• Official PlanMaker 2021 function reference
• Official PlanMaker 2026 formula-entry help
• Official PlanMaker 2026 input/regional settings

Verification status: Official documentation checked; example outcomes were independently reasoned or arithmetically checked where applicable. Not executed in SoftMaker PlanMaker.

• No genuine SoftMaker PlanMaker screenshots are included; this guide does not use mock application images.