Syntax
T(value)
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| value | Parameter of the T function. |
Examples
Extract only text values
Formula
=T(A1)
If A1="Hello", returns "Hello". If A1=42 or A1=TRUE, returns "" (empty string).
Safe concatenation
Formula
=T(A1) & T(B1)
Concatenates only the text values from A1 and B1. Numeric or logical values are silently dropped instead of being coerced.
Check data type
Formula
=IF(T(A1)<>"", "Text", "Not text")
Returns "Text" if A1 contains a text value, "Not text" for numbers, booleans, or blanks.
Common Errors
#VALUE!
T itself rarely errors, but if the referenced cell contains an error (like #REF!), that error propagates through T.
Tips
Opposite of N
T extracts text (returns empty for non-text). N extracts numbers (returns 0 for non-numbers). They are complementary type filters.
Useful for cleaning mixed data
When a column has mixed numbers and text, =T(A1) in a helper column isolates just the text entries for further processing.
Mostly replaced by ISTEXT
For just checking if a value is text, ISTEXT(A1) returns TRUE/FALSE and is more readable. T is better when you need the actual text value.
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