Validate a whole number in Excel

Very INTeresting

If you need to confirm a number is a whole number you can use a function with a short name.

The INT function (it is short for INTEGER) which will remove any decimals from a number. INTEGER is a mathematical and programming term for a whole number.

If cell A1 has a number and you want to validate it as a whole number you could use.

=A1=INT(A1)

This will display TRUE if the number is a whole number and FALSE if it isn’t.

If you aren’t sure the cell will hold a number and it might hold text or even an error you can use.

=IF(ISNUMBER(A1),A1=INT(A1))

This will display FALSE for text and avoid the #VALUE! error.

Note: The IF function doesn’t have a FALSE argument and so it will simply display FALSE if the ISNUMBER function returns FALSE.

This formula also handles errors in cell A1.

Some examples shown below.

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5 thoughts on “Validate a whole number in Excel

  1. This provides a false positive for negative numbers which are not whole numbers. The function does not work.

  2. Is there a way to prevent a number which isn’t an integer from being entered if your field requires integers. eg I have a field that I require to only have integers in that is to be completed by a third party and they must ensure hat the answer is an integer.
    The following Quantity = 300 with a Carton Quantity = 30would give me an Answer= 10. This is acceptable but if the 300 were changed to 400 I don’t want the third party to be able to enter a quantity that won’t give you an integer as the answer. Ths cell must then remain blank