what does '- do in a cell?

[sc16]

i'm trying to indicate that there is no relation cost between an origin and a
destination however 0 would not indicate this as zero would indicate that the
cost = $0.. what can i put into a cell to let it know that no relation exists
when i want to use the solver tool? also, what exactly does '- mean in a
cell?

 

[Chip Pearson]

You might try using =NA() to return a #N/A value. The ' apostrophe
character at the beginning of the text in a cell tells Excel to treat the
following content as literal text, not to be translated. For example, if you
enter 1/2/34 in a cell, Excel translates it to the date 2-Jan-1934 (or
1-Feb-1934 depending locale settings). If you precede this entry with an
apostrophe, Excel treats it as literal text and does not convert it to a
date.


--
Cordially,
Chip Pearson
Microsoft MVP - Excel, 10 Years
Pearson Software Consulting
www.cpearson.com
(email on the web site)

 

[sc16]

Hey Chip,

Unfortunately that doesn't work either! =( but thanks for the thought..
appreciate it =)

 

[JLGWhiz]

I think Chip missed the - in your question. However, what he said still
holds true for that condition. The ['-] means don't treat this as a
numerical operator, but as a short dash.