Excel: Unevenly empty - the ISTLEER function at a glance

In Microsoft Excel, for example, you can use formulas and functions to automate or simplify calculations and other processes. With the ISTLEER function, you can conveniently find out whether a cell is with or without content. Read how to use the function and what to keep in mind.

How to use the ISTLEER function

If you want to find out in a large document whether certain cells have content or not, the fastest way to do it is to integrate an ISTLEER function.

• The syntax of the function is simple compared to other functions and looks like this: "=ISTLEER(cell)".
• If the cell is empty, the function returns the result "TRUE". If there is a value or any content in the cell, you get the result "FALSE" as output.
• You can combine the ISTLEER function with a IF function. This opens up the possibility for you, for example, to get an output result other than TRUE or FALSE.
• A combination of the two functions could look like this: "=If(ISTLEER(A2);0;1)". Excel then checks cell A2 to see if it is empty and then outputs a 0 if the cell is empty and a 1 if content is found.

IST function - what you need to know

The ISTLEER function is based on the IST function. In addition to the ISTLEER function, there are many other IST functions that allow you to check cells according to certain criteria. For example, using the ISTTEXT function, you can determine whether a cell contains text or not.