PlanMaker TYPE: Distinguish value types and expose the blank-cell trap
TYPE returns a numeric category code for a value. PlanMaker explicitly gives both numbers and empty cells code 1. Consequently, TYPE(A2)=1 is not sufficient to establish that a required numeric input has actually been supplied.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
TYPE returns a numeric category code for a value. PlanMaker explicitly gives both numbers and empty cells code 1. Consequently, TYPE(A2)=1 is not sufficient to establish that a required numeric input has actually been supplied.
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
=TYPE(Value)
The documented category codes
Value is the one required argument; no optional default is listed. The official mapping is:
| Value category | Code |
|---|---|
| Number or empty cell | 1 |
| Text string | 2 |
| Boolean | 4 |
| Error value | 16 |
| Array | 64 |
These codes classify the value supplied to TYPE. They are not counts, error identifiers or formula-presence flags. Code 16 does not distinguish #N/A from a division error; use ERROR.TYPE for the documented error subcategories. Code 64 is documented for arrays, but the worksheet below does not claim a particular array-entry or dynamic-spill syntax.
Reproduce the blank-versus-zero distinction
Create TypeControls with Entry, Type_code and Empty_cell in A1:C1. Enter the following A values; A4 must be physically cleared. Fill B2 =TYPE(A2) and C2 =ISBLANK(A2) through row 9.
| Row | A entry | Expected B | Expected C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 24 |
1 | FALSE |
| 3 | 0 |
1 | FALSE |
| 4 | physically cleared | 1 | TRUE |
| 5 | ="24" |
2 | FALSE |
| 6 | ="Ready" |
2 | FALSE |
| 7 | =2>1 |
4 | FALSE |
| 8 | =1/0 |
16 | FALSE |
| 9 | =NA() |
16 | FALSE |
The blank-cell mapping comes directly from the TYPE reference. The string-producing formulas follow the text contract; their expected classification and the composed flags are independently modeled, not native observations. Formula-empty strings are not included because their emptiness classification requires a separate native check.
On a copy, replace A4 with numeric 0. B4 remains 1, but C4 changes to FALSE. If an import turned a missing quantity into zero, a TYPE-only audit would not reveal that change. The accompanying empty-cell test does.
Advanced: validate presence before numeric type
On the original sheet, fill D2 below through D9:
=IF(ISBLANK(A2),"Missing",IF(TYPE(A2)=1,"Number candidate","Review type"))
Expected D is Number candidate, Number candidate, Missing, Review type, Review type, Review type, Review type, Review type. Number candidate means a populated numeric category, not that the number is positive, integral, within a permitted range or otherwise correct for the field.
Change A5 from ="24" to numeric 24 in a copy. B5 changes from 2 to 1, and D5 becomes Number candidate. Changing A7 from the logical comparison to numeric 1 also changes its TYPE code from 4 to 1. The visual display and possible arithmetic coercion are separate from the original value category.
Result type and formula presence are independent
On a separate sheet put numeric 25 in A2, =5*5 in A3 and ="25" in A4. Fill B2 =TYPE(A2) and C2 =ISFORMULA(A2) through row 4. Expected B is 1,1,2, while C is FALSE,TRUE,TRUE. The first two cells share a result type and value but have different origins.
Replacing A3 with fixed 25 leaves TYPE unchanged while ISFORMULA becomes FALSE. Type checking cannot prove that a workbook retained its formulas after a paste-values step or a format conversion.
Troubleshooting and limits
TYPE code 1 must not be described as an unconditional proof of a populated number in PlanMaker. Also, a displayed error code 16 is a successful numeric diagnostic result, not the underlying error itself. Reclassifying the diagnostic cell answers a different question.
The manual gives category codes but does not settle every coercion, range, imported specialized type or array-entry case. Do not borrow another product’s blank handling. ISNUMBER and ISBLANK are useful focused tests; ISFORMULA checks formula presence independently.
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.