Value of non-numeric characters in a formula

J

Jeff Layman

As pretty much an Excel newbie, why does Excel (97 and 2002) treat a
non-numeric character as having a value of 1 in a =PRODUCT formula? It
treats the same character as a 0 in a =SUM formula.

Make C1 =PRODUCT(A1,B1). Then, e.g put 5 in A1 and 3 in B1. C1 shows 15.
Fine. Now try putting 0 in B1. C1 is now 0. Fine again. Now try putting
an e or a comma in B1. C1 shows 5! Why?
Try the same thing with C1 = SUM(A1,B1). The result will be 8, 5, and 5.

TIA for the explanation. I'm sure it's there somewhere in the Help info,
but I can't see it.
 

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