IMREAL in WPS Spreadsheet: Extract a Signed Real Coefficient

=IMREAL(inumber)

The required argument is a complex number represented as text. The official lesson describes both x+yi and x+yj. Quote a literal in a formula, or supply a reference to the text cell. These examples use explicit coefficients and lowercase i/j without spaces or shorthand.

The real coefficient is signed. For −5 + 6i it is −5, even though the imaginary coefficient is positive. Changing the imaginary suffix from i to j does not change the real coefficient in these documented representations.

Create a fresh two-column sheet with Complex text in A1 and Real coefficient in B1. Enter the following inputs as text:

Enter the first formula in B2 and copy it down. Each reference must point to its corresponding input in column A. As a separate literal check, =IMREAL("-5+6i") has expected result −5.

These results follow directly from identifying the coefficient a. They require no approximation and are independent mathematical expectations rather than application observations.

The first two inputs have real coefficients 4 and 7. Their component difference is 4 − 7 = −3, and their component sum is 11. This is useful when a calculation explicitly requires the real part of an already-defined sum or difference.

Do not substitute this component difference for a complex magnitude. The first input’s magnitude is sqrt(4²+3²) = 5, while its real coefficient is 4. For −5+6i, the real coefficient is negative, but the magnitude is sqrt(61), a positive number.

A useful worksheet layout keeps the original complex text next to a clearly labelled extraction column. If downstream arithmetic adds the extracted values, it is adding real components only. The original imaginary components remain relevant to any later complex multiplication, magnitude or phase calculation.

The walkthrough prose says to select the output cell as the input, but the actual visible formulas reference the input column. Follow the explicit A-to-B layout above; referring to B2 from its own IMREAL formula would create a circular dependency rather than extract A2.

The lesson does not provide a complete malformed-input error table. No exact error token is asserted here for Boolean values, blanks, arbitrary words or invalid complex syntax. Uppercase suffixes, implicit coefficients, numeric values without a suffix and locale-specific decimal text are also outside these controlled examples.

IMREAL is a component extractor, not a general expression parser. A valid-looking expression such as a sum of two complex strings still needs a separately documented complex operation. Keep complete inputs and avoid inferring additional coercion rules from other spreadsheet products.

The official WPS Academy IMREAL lesson, published 2019-06-19, was rechecked on October 19, 2026. The lesson’s applicability field is blank. Its edition and operating-system scope are therefore unspecified. The publication date is evidence that the function was documented by that date, not its introduction date. Exact numeric builds, first and last supported versions remain unknown. The lesson does not establish retirement or deprecation, or parity across platforms and editions.

These are original documentation-based examples with independently calculated expected values. They were not executed in WPS. Vendor demonstrations are historical documentation, not our application tests. Application input handling and workbook interchange remain unverified. English function names and comma separators follow the lesson.

• IMABS: calculate magnitude, a different quantity.
• IMSUB: subtract complete complex values.
• IMCONJUGATE: retain the real coefficient while reversing the imaginary sign.