Functions in Appleworks

[pbridges]

I am trying to help my wife who is entering genealogical data in an Appleworks
spreadsheet with a template supplied by someone else.
The field contains a nested set of logical and text functions.

I have an idea where it is going wrong, but it depends on the order that Appleworks
evaluates a line of functions.
I need to know if the order is L to R, R to L, or inner nesting to outer, and I cannot find where this is explained.

The field is:
=IF(AND(TRIM(P2)<>"",LEFT(TRIM(P2),1)<>"("),TRIM(P2),IF(O2<>"",O2,IF(TRIM(P2)<>"",IF(RIGHT(TRIM(P2),1)=")",MID(TRIM(P2),2,LEN(TRIM(P2))-2),""),"")))

and fails with an invalid arg when the source P2 is one or more blank characters.

[Dan Millar]

Ahhh, good ole' AppleWorks! I can't answer your question, but I believe it's left to right, and one if/else statement per line unless nested, but I could be wrong - I haven't used AppleWorks spreadsheets for years. I found a manual online here:

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Manuals/software/AWorksMacUM.PDF

Also, there are still thousands of people using AppleWorks and there are experts online at:

http://www.apple.com/support/appleworks/

Maybe someone there has the exact answer you're looking for...

Happy Mac'ing!

Dan