DMIN and DMAX Return Decimal Values for Integer Entries

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 2.x, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0
• Microsoft Excel for OS/2, versions 2.2, 2.21, 3.0

SYMPTOMS

When you use the DMIN() or DMAX() function in Microsoft Excel, decimal values are returned, even though the entries in the database field appear as integers.

CAUSE

Functions in Microsoft Excel reference the underlying value of a cell (the value displayed in the formula bar or in the Values section of the Info window), not the displayed value. Because of this, it is possible for a function such as DMIN() to return a decimal value even when the displayed database field values are all integers.

For example, if the miniumum value in a database field "numbers" is 1.01, but the number is formatted to display only integers, the value displays as 1. If you then use the DMIN() function to return the minimum value in the field "numbers", the value returned is 1.01, not the displayed value 1.

WORKAROUND

To avoid returning a decimal value using the DMIN() or DMAX() function when the database field values are displayed as integers, format the cell that contains the DMIN() or DMAX() function to display only integers.