"=+" Why?

[MrKowz]

Good Monday all,

I have been going through some Excel files on my network drives and I notice that a LOT of people use "=+" to start a lot of their formulas. What exactly does this do? I see entries such as =+Now(), =+A1+B1, and other really (seemingly pointless) things.

Thank you, and may the coffee flow freely this morning!

 

[Jonmo1]

Upon further testing, it apperas to only convert + to =+ IF the formula you type BEGINS with an excel function.

+NOW() : =+NOW()
+1 : 1
+1*10 : =1*10
+10*NOW() : =10*NOW()

 

[MrKowz]

upon further testing, it apperas to only convert + to =+ if the formula you type begins with an excel function.

+now() : =+now()
+1 : 1
+1*10 : =1*10
+10*now() : =10*now()

+a1 : =+a1

 

[Jonmo1]

apparently didn't test far enough....

so if Begins with Function or Cell reference, it converts to =+
If it begins with a Number, converts to just =

 

[MrKowz]

apparently didn't test far enough....

so if Begins with Function or Cell reference, it converts to =+
If it begins with a Number, converts to just =

Does this behaviour still apply in Excel 2007? I have done all this testing in Excel 2003.