PlanMaker NA: Keep missing inputs distinct from genuine zero
NA creates the #N/A error, meaning not available. It is useful when an input is required but has not yet arrived: dependent calculations then retain a visible missing-value state instead of displaying an incomplete total as though it were final.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
NA creates the #N/A error, meaning not available. It is useful when an input is required but has not yet arrived: dependent calculations then retain a visible missing-value state instead of displaying an incomplete total as though it were final.
Availability and evidence
The PlanMaker 2026 reference, 2024 reference and 2021 reference were retrieved and read on October 15, 2026. These establish documented operation in those manual families, not an original introduction or a last-working-version endpoint. Both historical endpoints remain unverified. Specific FreeOffice/mobile editions and every desktop build are outside the checked scope.
The examples are documentation-backed and independently calculated or modeled. No native PlanMaker execution, screenshot, export or import test was performed. The English formulas use commas where multiple arguments are needed; localized names and separators need checking in the installed version.
Exact syntax
=NA()
Syntax and the documented missing marker
NA takes no arguments. The parentheses are part of the call, so enter =NA() in the worksheet. SoftMaker also documents that entering the error token #N/A directly creates the same error. A formula such as ="#N/A", however, deliberately creates a text string; it is not the same test input.
The official example describes incomplete quarterly sales. It warns that simply leaving the missing quarter empty lets a sum appear to be an annual total even though an input has not been supplied. The safe distinction is missing versus known zero, not good versus bad performance.
Reproduce a quarterly completeness control
Create QuarterTotals with Quarter, Sales and Missing in A1:C1. Enter Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4 in A2:A5. Enter numeric 100,120,90 in B2:B4 and =NA() in B5. Fill C2 =ISNA(B2) through C5. Put =SUM(B2:B5) in B7 and =ISNA(B7) in C7.
| Cell or range | Independent expected result |
|---|---|
| C2:C5 | FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, TRUE |
| B7 | #N/A |
| C7 | TRUE |
| Sum of the three known quarters only | 310 |
The known subtotal 310 is not the completed annual total. Keep it labeled as incomplete if you report it separately. The ISNA reference also documents propagation through dependent arithmetic, such as a missing cell multiplied by two.
In a copy, replace B5 with numeric 80. C5 becomes FALSE, B7 becomes 390, and C7 becomes FALSE. In another original copy, replace B5 with numeric 0. The total is 310, but it is now complete under the supplied inputs. The same displayed number 310 can therefore represent a known three-quarter subtotal or a complete year with a zero fourth quarter; the data state matters.
Advanced: combine a missing count with a visible total
On the original sheet, fill D2 =IF(ISNA(B2),1,0) through D5. =SUM(D2:D5) is expected to return 1. If B3 is also changed to =NA() on a copy, the count becomes 2. The total remains #N/A in both cases; its error category alone does not tell you how many inputs are missing.
Keep the missing count and original quarter cells visible rather than replacing each unavailable value with zero. Once B3 and B5 are filled with 120 and 80, the count becomes 0 and the total becomes 390. This is a reproducible completion test, not a guarantee that those supplied sales figures are correct.
On a separate MarkerTypes sheet enter =NA(), ="#N/A", numeric 0 and ="pending" in A2:A5. Fill B2 =ISNA(A2) and C2 =ISTEXT(A2) downward. Expected B is TRUE,FALSE,FALSE,FALSE; expected C is FALSE,TRUE,FALSE,TRUE. A meaningful label is still text and should not be mistaken for the error marker.
Propagation is not universal behavior for every function
The vendor describes arithmetic and aggregation using unavailable inputs. Error-inspection functions such as ISNA are specifically designed to return a Boolean about that input, so they do not simply propagate it. Do not turn the general missing-data explanation into a promise that every possible formula will return #N/A whenever one appears anywhere in its arguments.
A TRUE ISNA flag identifies the error category, not its cause. An intentional marker and a failed lookup can both need investigation. ISERROR tests any error and ISERR deliberately excludes #N/A.
Troubleshooting and limits
Confirm that the formula was entered as a formula, with a leading equals sign, rather than as text. Do not add a reason string as an argument to NA; use a separate note column for explanations. Chart treatment, lookup behavior, arrays, localized error display and save/reopen behavior require their own checks. This guide does not claim any native behavior for those cases.
Native verification checklist
Record the exact product/build, edition, platform, language and workbook format. Recreate the original cells, inspect the actual formulas and apply each changed-input control on a separate copy. Verify saved-file recalculation and destination compatibility independently; neither follows merely from a matching displayed result.