PlanMaker MINA: Mixed Values, Pending Quotes and Logical Flags
Understand PlanMaker MINA with positive measurements, text versus genuine zero, Boolean flags and complete separately preserved examples.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
Quick answer: =MINA(A2:A8) returns an independently expected 0 for the mixed entries below. PlanMaker evaluates text and FALSE as zero and TRUE as one; genuinely empty cells are ignored. A pending label can therefore become the minimum even when every recorded numeric value is positive.
Availability and version history
- Introduced: Documented by the PlanMaker 2010 manual; the original introduction release and date remain unknown.
- Availability: Documented in PlanMaker 2026. This identifies a documented version, not a last-working-version endpoint.
- Scope: The current entry belongs to the 2026/NX manual family; exact FreeOffice and individual mobile-build behavior is not established here.
- Checked: October 14, 2026, against the official MINA reference and historical entry. The examples were independently calculated; no native PlanMaker test was performed.
Syntax and the inclusion policy
=MINA(Number1 [, Number2, Number3 ...])
The current reference requires the first input, which may be a value or range, with further inputs optional. Square brackets show optional syntax and are not typed. These examples follow the English help’s commas.
MINA includes text and logical values under its documented zero/one mapping. The corresponding MIN reference ignores those types in a referenced range. Neither function decides whether mixing a price, a status label and a logical flag is a sensible measurement policy.
The 2010 entry prints two leading Value arguments, but also demonstrates a single-range call. The current help prints one required Number argument. This is a documented signature difference, not proof of a historical runtime limit or its change date.
Complete positive-value and type controls
Create MixedMinimum, with Input and Intended type in A1:B1 and Numeric mapping in C1. Enter:
| Row | A: Input | B: Intended type | C: Numeric mapping |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 8 | Number | 8 |
| 3 | 12 | Number | 12 |
| 4 | 5 | Number | 5 |
| 5 | pending | Text | 0 |
| 6 | =TRUE() |
Logical | 1 |
| 7 | =FALSE() |
Logical | 0 |
| 8 | leave empty | Empty | leave empty |
Type the status word without quote characters. Do not type anything into A8 or C8. Column C is a manual reconstruction of the documented type conversions.
Use E2:E9 for these independent controls:
| Cell | Formula | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| E2 | =MINA(A2:A4) |
5 |
| E3 | =MINA(A2:A5) |
0 |
| E4 | =MINA(A2:A8) |
0 |
| E5 | =MIN(A2:A8) |
5 |
| E6 | =MIN(C2:C7) |
0 |
| E7 | =MINA(A2:A4,A8) |
5 |
| E8 | =MINA(A2:A4,A6) |
1 |
| E9 | =MINA(A2:A4,A7) |
0 |
E3 exposes the text zero. E8 isolates TRUE’s one, while E9 isolates FALSE’s zero. E7’s genuinely empty reference supplies neither value. Looking only at E4 would hide which individual types caused the result.
In G2 enter =SUM(C2:C7) for 26, and in G3 enter =COUNT(C2:C7) for 6. Both apply to the explicit numeric mapping; they are not a claim that every source entry is a measured amount.
Reproduce the official numerical and logical examples
Create VendorMinimum and enter 5, 2 and =TRUE() in A1:A3. In C1 enter =MINA(A1:A3); expect 1. In C2 enter =MIN(A1:A3); expect 2. These exact comparisons are documented in the current reference.
In C3 enter =MINA(5,7,4,9); expect 4, reproducing its direct numeric example. All four candidates are numbers, so the additional-type policy does not change that minimum.
A pending quote and a genuine zero quote
Create QuoteCheck with numeric 8,12,5 in A2:A4 and plain text pending in A5. Put =MINA(A2:A5) in C2 and =MIN(A2:A5) in C3. Expect 0 and 5, respectively. C2’s zero came from the status label; it is not a supplier quote.
In C4 enter =IF(C2<5,"Below five","Five or above"); expect Below five. In C5 use the same test on C3: =IF(C3<5,"Below five","Five or above"); expect Five or above. Equality with five does not pass the strict less-than comparison.
Copy the sheet to CompletedQuotes and replace A5 with numeric 6. C2 and C3 both become 5, and both labels become Five or above.
Make a separate copy of the original QuoteCheck named ZeroQuote, and replace A5 with numeric 0. Now C2 and C3 both return 0. Their matching result has a different meaning: a real recorded zero participates in both numeric and mixed-value minima. Whether a zero quote is valid must be investigated separately.
Boolean-only completeness flags
Create AllFlags with =TRUE() in A2:A4. Put =MINA(A2:A4) in C2; expect 1. In C3 enter =IF(C2=1,"All supplied flags true","At least one false flag"); expect All supplied flags true.
Replace A3 with =FALSE(); C2 becomes 0 and C3 becomes At least one false flag. This interpretation is limited to the three explicitly populated Boolean cells. An omitted or empty flag should not silently count as a completed check just because the function ignores empty cells.
Limits and related functions
The function page does not establish every imported numeric-string, error, array, empty-string or all-empty-range result. In particular, a formula returning "" is not the genuinely empty-cell fixture used above. Verify those contexts before extending the inclusion policy to a different workbook.
MAXA selects the opposite extreme under its documented additional-type mapping. AVERAGEA illustrates how the same type policy changes an average. IF exposes the stated threshold, while SUM and COUNT reconcile explicit numeric helper data.