Excel’s INFO function is one of a group of “Information Functions” that can be used to find out information about a specific cell, worksheet, workbook or computer.
The INFO function is often used for reasons of compatibility between an Excel file and its current environment.
The function will give you such information as the computer's operating system, the name and version number of the spreadsheet program in use, and the saved file's location.
The syntax for the INFO function is:
= INFO ( type_text )
Type_text: Refers to the type of information being sought.
Only specific keywords can be used for this parameter. A list of the keywords can be found in Excel's help file for this function.
Example Using Excel's INFO Function:
For help with this example, see the image above.
- Click on cell E1 - the location where the results of the function will be displayed.
- Click on the Formulas tab.
- Choose More Functions > Information from the ribbon to open the function drop down list.
- Click on INFO in the list to bring up that function's dialog box.
- Enter the word "release" on the Type_text line of the dialog box to find out the version of Excel being used.
- Click OK.
- If you are using Excel 2007, the number " 12 " should appear in cell E1 since Excel 2007 is the twelfth version of Excel to be released by Microsoft.
- The complete function = INFO ( " release " ) appears in the formula bar above the worksheet when you click on cell E1.
- To find out other information, such as version of the current operating system, replace the keyword release with the keyword osversion.
Note: When replacing the current keyword, do not erase the quotation marks ( " " ) surrounding the current keyword or you will get a #NAME? error value in the cell.
As mentioned above, a complete list of the keywords for this function can be found in the Excel help file.
