"= +" The secret code in Excel that tells you your age? "

"= +" The secret code in Excel that tells you your age? "

Have you ever opened your colleague's Excel file and found a formula that looks like this?

= + B10 / C10 instead of = B10 / C10

Have you ever wondered what the "+" after "=" is doing there?

Actually... it doesn't do anything!

Excel reads it like there's no "+." The results are exactly the same as twins.

But this has a place to go. It's not a mistake.

The "= +" sign is a legacy from the days of Lotus 1-2-3 and the legendary spreadsheet programs of the 80s-90s. If you want to calculate, you have to start with a plus sign, such as + B10 / C10. When Microsoft Excel was born, you use the = sign, but to make it easy for people to move the program, Excel allows = +. It works. The habit of typing = + has stuck to the present day.

📅 How does it tell age?

If you see anyone still using = +, it is highly likely that he has passed the Lotus era 1-2-3, or at least learned from a senior who has passed that era, which means...

"He's probably about 40 or 60 years old, or close to someone of that age."

But don't say hello to anyone so hard.

"This is vintage!"

🤔 Should we stop using it?

You can quit if you want to make the file look clean, but if you're in with the retro = + feed, it's not wrong, because Excel understands both.

Who would have thought there was one mark in Excel that became a "time machine" this way?

# Excel working age # Half-age secrets # ilovemyjob