NOT Function in Excel: Explained

In this article, you will learn what the NOT formula in Excel does and how it can be used in Excel.

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What does the NOT formula in excel do?

The NOT function in Excel is a logical function that reverses the logical value of a given statement. It takes a single argument or statement and returns the opposite logical value of that statement.

For example, if the argument or statement is TRUE, then the NOT function will return FALSE. Similarly, if the argument or statement is FALSE, then the NOT function will return TRUE.

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What are some uses of the NOT function in Excel?

Here are some common uses of the NOT formula in Excel:

1. Checking if a value is not equal to a certain criteria: For example, if you want to check if a cell (A1) does not contain a specific word, you can use the formula =NOT(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("word",A1)))
2. Testing if a condition is not met: For example, if you want to check if a number in A1 is not between two values, you can use the formula =NOT(AND(A1>=10, A1<=20))
3. In combination with the IF formula to create conditional statements: For example, if you want to display a message if a value in A1 is not equal to a certain criterion, you can use the formula =IF(NOT(A1="test word"), "Incorrect input", "")
4. Validating data entry: For example, if you want to ensure that a cell (A1) does not contain a certain value, you can use the formula =NOT(A1="value"). If the cell contains the specified value, the formula returns FALSE and the data entry is rejected.

Overall, the NOT formula is a useful tool for manipulating logical values in Excel and can be used in a wide range of scenarios.

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How to use the NOT function in Excel?

The syntax of the NOT function is:

=NOT(logical)

where logical is the statement or expression that you want to reverse.

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How to use the NOT formula with the OR function?

You can also use the NOT function with other logical operators, such as AND and OR. For example, suppose you have a logical expression that checks if a person is lesser than 18 years old or does not have a valid driver's license:

= OR(B3 < 18, C3 = "No")

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Now if you need to reverse this logic using the NOT function, you can wrap the entire formula with the NOT function:

= NOT(OR(B3 > 18, C3 = "No"))

This formula will return FALSE if either the person is under 18 or does not have a valid driver's license.

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