The ABS function removes the negative sign from a number, effectively converting it to a positive value. It is commonly used to calculate the magnitude of a difference between two values regardless of which is larger.
=ABS(-5)→5Converts the negative integer -5 to its positive equivalent.
=ABS(10-25)→15Calculates the absolute difference between 10 and 25.
Select a cell
Click on the cell where you want to display the result.
Enter the formula
Type =ABS( followed by the number or cell reference, then close with a parenthesis.
Press Enter
Press the Enter key to calculate and display the absolute value.
The function will return the number unchanged.
No, it will return a #VALUE! error if the input is non-numeric text.