ATAN2 in WPS Spreadsheet: Find a Coordinate Angle and Preserve Quadrants

• Introduced: documented by 2019-06-05 in the official WPS lesson; original introduction is not established.
• Availability: WPS Office for Windows Personal; no numeric release is stated in the edition metadata.
• Scope: exact current supported builds remain unverified. The Windows lesson does not establish equivalent availability in other WPS clients.
• Checked: October 14, 2026 against function-specific documentation. Examples were independently calculated; no native WPS test was performed.

=ATAN2(x_num,y_num)

WPS documents x first, y second. Some programming libraries use the opposite argument order, so do not copy a call without checking its convention.

The official lesson states a radian result greater than −pi and at most pi. Positive results indicate counterclockwise rotation from the positive x-axis; negative results indicate clockwise rotation. This is a signed mathematical coordinate angle, not automatically a compass bearing measured clockwise from north.

Enter these numeric coordinates in A2:B5, with x and y headings:

In C2 enter and fill down:

=ATAN2(A2,B2)*180/PI()

The table’s final column labels the expected output; it is not an extra source coordinate. The same absolute ratio 3/4 occurs in every row, but the signs select different directions.

=ATAN2(1,0)*180/PI()
=ATAN2(0,1)*180/PI()
=ATAN2(-1,0)*180/PI()
=ATAN2(0,-1)*180/PI()

Expected degree results are 0, 90, 180 and −90. The negative x-axis uses positive pi under the source’s exclusion of −pi.

The historical lesson explicitly assigns #DIV/0! to =ATAN2(0,0). The origin has no direction. This is a vendor-documented error rule, not a newly captured native WPS result or a claim about every other spreadsheet product.

Let the starting point be (2,1) and the destination be (−2,4). Subtract starting coordinates from destination coordinates:

=ATAN2(-2-2,4-1)*180/PI()

The displacement is (−4,3), so the expected direction is approximately 143.130102354 degrees. Using the destination coordinates directly would instead measure from the origin, a different geometric question.

Reversing the journey negates both displacement coordinates and gives approximately −36.869897646 degrees. The two directions differ by half a turn after accounting for the signed interval.

=ATAN2(40,30)*180/PI()
=ATAN2(-40,-30)*180/PI()

Expected results are approximately 36.869897646 and −143.130102354 degrees. Multiplying both coordinates by a positive factor preserves direction; multiplying both by a negative factor reverses it.

The coordinate magnitudes affect distance but not this angle. Scaling must apply to both coordinates equally for that statement to hold.

The lesson also says ATAN2(a,b) equals ATAN(b/a) unless a is zero. Taken literally for negative a, that sentence conflicts with its own coordinate-angle definition and signed output range.

For (−4,3), ATAN(3/−4) gives approximately −36.869897646 degrees, while the correct coordinate angle is 143.130102354 degrees. This guide follows the documented quadrant-preserving definition. The quotient shortcut requires positive x or an explicit quadrant correction.

Check argument order, origin choice, subtraction direction and radians-versus-degrees before diagnosing an unexpected quadrant. Keep the original signed result when converting it to another reporting convention.

The lesson supplies the endpoint and origin rules used here. Exact signed-zero conventions, imported types and every current WPS build remain unverified. See ATAN for the one-ratio inverse and DEGREES for unit conversion.

• WPS Academy: ATAN2 lesson, 2019-06-05 (Chinese; Windows Personal scope).
• Editorial testing standards.

The direct WPS product lesson supports the stated function scope. Worked outputs are independent expectations, not captured native results or proof of support across all current WPS clients.