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    <title><![CDATA[Discussion on Office Challenge: How can you get Excel to return an average that doesn't consider 0 values? ]]></title>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[try the averageif function]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3631433]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I use this all the time in my grade spreadsheets.  I want to know the exam average without any &quot;0&quot;s (say if someone missed the exam for example).  I type in &quot;AVERAGEIF(A2;A25,&quot;0&quot;).]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3631433]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[esikorski@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:01:51 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[using this array formula in a pivot table]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3421139]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I have a large amount of data with many columns that have cells with 0 values.  I have no issue writing this for the data.  However, I need to be able to do this type of average in a pivot table.  I know you can't do it in Excel 2007, can you in Excel 2010.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3421139]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Lori.shore]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 21 Feb 2011 19:10:08 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Most making it too hard!]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3379807]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Try a simple formula like this where you sum all the cell values and then divide by the values greater than zero:SUM(A1:A10)/COUNTIF(A1:IA10,&quot;&gt;0&quot;)You don't care if the numerator adds the zero since it adds nothing to the average, you just want to exclude counting zeros in the denominator to get an average for only cells greater than zero.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3379807]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[kburrows]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 02 Nov 2010 07:47:14 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Changing the question.]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3344714]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Mathematically, you're correct.  However, if the boss wants the answer to the original question, debating what to call the result and giving him what you define as the answer isn't going to look good on your next review (assuming you're still employed).]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3344714]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[CharlieSpencer_Palmetto]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:18:32 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[An average is defined as...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3344710]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[An Average is defined as &quot;a quantity intermediate to a set of quantities&quot;Therefore the Zeros are part of this Set and should be included...Cheers]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3344710]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[heyyoucraig]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:52:33 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Office Challenge: How can you get Excel to return an average that doesn't consider 0 values?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3077941]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I guess, by default, all current Office discussions invoke 2007.  I saw no reference to version in the question.  AVERAGEIF is not supported in earlier versions - but obviously isn't the only solution.  The 'Array Formula' approach overcomes that &quot;shortfall&quot; in Office 2003.  New functions in Excel '07, not supported in earlier versions: include: AVERAGEIF, AVERAGEIFS, CUBEKPIMEMBER, CUBEMEMBER, CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY, CUBERANKEDMEMBER, CUBESET, CUBESETCOUNT, CUBEVALUE, COUNTIFS, IFERROR, and SUMIFS.  Wow, 18 character function names.It's good to see all the variations and alternatives, along with friendly discussion.  Exploring these suggestions always leads to more understanding of Excel's capabilities and throws in some 'Best Practices' for good measure.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3077941]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[mw00110011]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 18 May 2009 15:51:58 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Problem Definition is Definitely Basis for Including or Excluding Zero]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075970]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[You are absolutely right.  The problem definition is the basis for considering the use of a zero or a blank in the representation of data values.  If the organization, in particular strategic management, is trying to reflect the true position of the aggregate income (and the statistics associated with the aggregate) then the use of a zero value would probably be considered.  Whereas, if the organization (more specifically operations managment)  was attempting to reflect the potential of the revenue generation process then a blank might be more appropriate for representing those occasions where revenues could not be generated.  As a side note, in the case of Hurricane Katrina and the gaming revenues, use of an average would be misleading for any report generation.  The transition from patterned and trend revenues to no revenues and, respectively, a regeneration of revenues (basically a return to a new PLC structure) makes the presenation of most central tendency statistics virtually useless.  Thank you for your observation and response.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075970]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[rellis1949@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 15 May 2009 07:06:11 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Office Challenge: How can you get Excel to return an average that doesn't consider 0 values?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075654]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[One of the simplest ways to include or exclude zeroes is to decide as suggested by previous comments what value a zero represents in that portion of the worksheet.Some like to use a blank others a &quot;-&quot; lastly a 0.To achieve any of these options all you have to do is format the cell(s) that will be used in these forms of calculations. Using Custom Format in the Format cells dialog, enter your preferred +ve;-ve;zero;text formatsFor the Challenge here you would enter#.#;-#.#;&quot;&quot;; - this would replace a entered zero with a blank.or#.#;-#.#;&quot;-&quot;; - this would replace a entered zero with a dash.A normal =Average(Range) formula then will exclude the zero or blank entrytgullo@teccon.optusnet.auMelbourne, Australia]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075654]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[tgullo@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2009 18:47:10 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Mostly]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075626]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I agree with what you're saying about the design issues. However, one needs to be careful. In your example of gaming income, if I was the proprietor and wanted to know my average income per month for the year, the zeroes need to be included. Otherwise, it gives a false impression.If you see an average of $1,000 per month for the year, you know with certainty that you earned $12,000 that year. Any other interpretation of the average is false. The results have to be consistent to be useful in making judgements.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075626]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[dogknees]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2009 18:00:03 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[I Know]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075625]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[The point was that you didn't answer the question as it was asked. In our business it pays to be precise.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075625]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[dogknees]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2009 17:54:27 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Build the Spreadsheet with a Differentiation between Zeroes and Blanks]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075431]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[There were several good suggestions as to how zeros could be eliminated from the average operation.  However, a more important concept should be to reinforce the spreadsheet design such that zeros and blanks are differentiated and the zero/blank designation should be mandated in the spreadsheet.  Data quantification, especially in areas like sales dollars and sales units, mandates the difference between zero sales and no possible (blank) sales.  As a resident of the MS Coast and an educator, I constantly reinforce the difference between the two values through examples of various service revenues.  Problems, such as considering the mean (average) revenue for a service operation, take on considerably different results if the service revenues are considered zero when the dollars never had an opportunity to exist.  Hurricane Katrina devastated the Coast.  The three months following Katrina also prompted closure of the gaming institutions.  State revenue tables suggest the revenues were zero instead of blanks.  Thus, the mean earnings were inappropriately reflected.  Unlike a store that is open but had no sales (zero dollars), gaming institutions could not have revenues for three months.  Blanks in a spreadsheet would have resulted in a more meaningful mean statistic.  More importantly, the reflection of no earnings would have been more representative than that of zero earnings.  Respectively, building a spreadsheet with the appropriate use of zeros and blanks should be established so the zero exclusion from the average calculation would be a moot situation.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075431]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[rellis1949@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2009 08:55:04 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Office Challenge: How can you get Excel to return an average that doesn't c]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075219]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Use the following. It takes into account zeros, blanks and negative number.=SUM(A1:A4)/(COUNT(A1:A4)-COUNTIF(A1:A4,&quot;0&quot;))]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075219]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[rupinder@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2009 05:52:50 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[For NEGATIVES =AVERAGEIF(F3:F5,&quot;0&quot;)]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075188]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Just change the criteria....]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3075188]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[alan@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2009 05:32:52 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Negatives]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074963]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Your formula would exclude negative numbers as well as zeros.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074963]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[dogknees]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 18:02:04 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Not The Question]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074962]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[The question explicitly says to ignore zeroes, not blanks. A solution that excludes blank cells would be incorrect in this case.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074962]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[dogknees]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 18:01:04 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Office Challenge: How can you get Excel to return an average that doesn't consider 0 values?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074684]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[use Sumif &quot;&gt;0&quot; and countif &quot;&gt;0&quot;, like sumif(a1:a3,&quot;&gt;0&quot;,a1:a3)/countif(a1:a3,&quot;&gt;0&quot;)]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074684]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[faisal_kaleem@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 09:14:22 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Office Challenge: How can you get Excel to return an average that doesn't consider 0 values?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074642]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[If we take the values proposed in the statement of the problem (3, 0, 3) and place them in cells C2, C3 and C4, you can get the average of the non-zero values by using this formula in cell C5:=SUM(C2:C4)/(COUNTIF(C2:C4,&quot;0&quot;))Lou Bergner]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074642]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[lou.bergner@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 08:46:18 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Office Challenge: How can you get Excel to return an average that doesn't consider 0 values?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074498]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[two methods: 1) instead of average use sumif/countif where the if statement says only value numbers greater than 0 2) instead of populating with 0, use &quot;&quot; and then the average function will work properly.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074498]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[aaron.baker2@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 06:43:23 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Office Challenge: How can you get Excel to return an average that doesn't consider 0 values?, RE: Office Challenge: How can you get Excel to return an average that doesn't consider 0 values?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074463]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[You could use the COUNTIF function to exclude zero values. If the information you want to average is in column A rows 1 through 5 you could use this formula in A6 to average them without counting zeros:=(SUM(A1:A5))/(COUNTIF(A1:A5,&quot;0&quot;))]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074463]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[amasa@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 05:17:40 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Office Challenge: How can you get Excel to return an average that doesn't consider 0 values?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074444]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Use the averageif function and exclude any cells equal to zero.  Example:=AVERAGEIF(A1:D1,&quot;0&quot;)]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-308726-3074444]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[lkeppel@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 04:50:37 -0700</pubDate>
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