Normally, when you make a reference to a cell that is empty, Excel will show zero inside this cell. It’s usually helpful, so you know that there is an Excel function and not a blank cell.
This is illustrated in the following example.
![](https://officetuts.net/excel/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/example-return-zero.png)
And after you press enter, you get the following result.
![](https://officetuts.net/excel/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/zero-returned.png)
Return a blank cell
There is a way you can get a blank cell, instead of zero in Excel without using conditional functions or even VBA code.
What you need to do is to change the following settings.
Go to File >> Options >> Advanced and search for Display options for this workbook and uncheck Show a zero in cells that have zero value.
![](https://officetuts.net/excel/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/excel-options.png)
Let’s try the same example again.
![](https://officetuts.net/excel/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/example-return-zero.png)
Press enter to see the result.
![](https://officetuts.net/excel/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/blank-instead-zeros.png)
Inside cell B2 you have a reference to a blank cell A1, and the result is blank.