COMPLEX
Supported, behaves as documentedCategory: Engineering · Last tested 2026-09-01
Real compatibility results for the COMPLEX function: executed in Excel for the web, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc, with desktop Excel behavior from Microsoft’s official documentation (we do not run desktop Excel — Excel for the web is a different application and is executed separately). Syntax and links to that documentation are below.
Support matrix
| Engine | Documented | Live-tested | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel (desktop) | Yes | No — documented only | n/a |
| Excel for the web | — | Yes (recalc, 2026-09-01) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| Google Sheets | Yes | Yes (Drive import, 2026-08-31) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| LibreOffice Calc | Yes | Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-08-31) | Supported, behaves as documented |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when COMPLEX’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-31 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-31 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-31 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-31 |
Executed test cases
Excel for the web (executed 2026-09-01 via OneDrive recalculation)
These values come from Excel for the web, not from desktop Excel. They are two different implementations of the calculation engine, and this run measured only the web one: the corpus was uploaded to OneDrive as .xlsx, recalculated by Excel for the web on open, and downloaded again for readback. Excel for the web is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so the run is identified by its date. Where a value here disagrees with the Expected column — which is Microsoft’s documentation of the desktop product — we cannot tell you whether the web engine diverges from the desktop one or the documentation is wrong about both, because we do not run desktop Excel.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =COMPLEX(3,4) | Microsoft's documented worked example: real coefficient 3 and imaginary coefficient 4, default suffix | 3+4i | 3+4iProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as the text 3+4i. Follows directly from the documented conversion "real and imaginary coefficients into a complex number of the form x + yi", with the documented default suffix "i"; the result is a text string, not a number, so there is nothing to round |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX(3,4,"j") | Microsoft's documented worked example with the alternate engineering suffix j | 3+4j | 3+4jProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as the text 3+4j. The documentation states all complex-number functions accept "i" and "j" for suffix |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX(0,1) | Microsoft's documented worked example: a pure imaginary unit, where the zero real part is suppressed | i | iProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as the text i (not 0+1i): a zero real coefficient and a unit imaginary coefficient are both elided in the canonical form. This case pins the elision rule, which is pure formatting behaviour and not derivable from arithmetic |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX(1,0) | Microsoft's documented worked example: a zero imaginary part, where the imaginary term is suppressed entirely | 1 | 1ProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as the text 1 (not 1+0i). The mirror image of the previous case: a zero imaginary coefficient drops the whole imaginary term, leaving a bare real coefficient as text |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX(3,4,"I") | An uppercase I suffix | #VALUE! | #VALUE!ProvenanceExcel documents: "All complex number functions accept \"i\" and \"j\" for suffix, but neither \"I\" nor \"J\". Using uppercase results in the #VALUE! error value." |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX("abc",4) | A non-numeric real coefficient | #VALUE! | #VALUE!ProvenanceExcel documents: "If real_num is nonnumeric, COMPLEX returns the #VALUE! error value." |
Matched |
Google Sheets (executed 2026-08-31 via Drive import)
Google Sheets is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so this run is identified by its date. The corpus was imported to Drive as .xlsx, recalculated by Sheets, and exported back for readback.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =COMPLEX(3,4) | Microsoft's documented worked example: real coefficient 3 and imaginary coefficient 4, default suffix | 3+4i | 3+4iProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as the text 3+4i. Follows directly from the documented conversion "real and imaginary coefficients into a complex number of the form x + yi", with the documented default suffix "i"; the result is a text string, not a number, so there is nothing to round |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX(3,4,"j") | Microsoft's documented worked example with the alternate engineering suffix j | 3+4j | 3+4jProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as the text 3+4j. The documentation states all complex-number functions accept "i" and "j" for suffix |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX(0,1) | Microsoft's documented worked example: a pure imaginary unit, where the zero real part is suppressed | i | iProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as the text i (not 0+1i): a zero real coefficient and a unit imaginary coefficient are both elided in the canonical form. This case pins the elision rule, which is pure formatting behaviour and not derivable from arithmetic |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX(1,0) | Microsoft's documented worked example: a zero imaginary part, where the imaginary term is suppressed entirely | 1 | 1ProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as the text 1 (not 1+0i). The mirror image of the previous case: a zero imaginary coefficient drops the whole imaginary term, leaving a bare real coefficient as text |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX(3,4,"I") | An uppercase I suffix | #VALUE! | #VALUE!ProvenanceExcel documents: "All complex number functions accept \"i\" and \"j\" for suffix, but neither \"I\" nor \"J\". Using uppercase results in the #VALUE! error value." |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX("abc",4) | A non-numeric real coefficient | #VALUE! | #VALUE!ProvenanceExcel documents: "If real_num is nonnumeric, COMPLEX returns the #VALUE! error value." |
Matched |
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-08-31)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =COMPLEX(3,4) | Microsoft's documented worked example: real coefficient 3 and imaginary coefficient 4, default suffix | 3+4i | 3+4iProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as the text 3+4i. Follows directly from the documented conversion "real and imaginary coefficients into a complex number of the form x + yi", with the documented default suffix "i"; the result is a text string, not a number, so there is nothing to round |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX(3,4,"j") | Microsoft's documented worked example with the alternate engineering suffix j | 3+4j | 3+4jProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as the text 3+4j. The documentation states all complex-number functions accept "i" and "j" for suffix |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX(0,1) | Microsoft's documented worked example: a pure imaginary unit, where the zero real part is suppressed | i | iProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as the text i (not 0+1i): a zero real coefficient and a unit imaginary coefficient are both elided in the canonical form. This case pins the elision rule, which is pure formatting behaviour and not derivable from arithmetic |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX(1,0) | Microsoft's documented worked example: a zero imaginary part, where the imaginary term is suppressed entirely | 1 | 1ProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as the text 1 (not 1+0i). The mirror image of the previous case: a zero imaginary coefficient drops the whole imaginary term, leaving a bare real coefficient as text |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX(3,4,"I") | An uppercase I suffix | #VALUE! | #VALUE!ProvenanceExcel documents: "All complex number functions accept \"i\" and \"j\" for suffix, but neither \"I\" nor \"J\". Using uppercase results in the #VALUE! error value." |
Matched |
| =COMPLEX("abc",4) | A non-numeric real coefficient | #VALUE! | #VALUE!ProvenanceExcel documents: "If real_num is nonnumeric, COMPLEX returns the #VALUE! error value." |
Matched |
Docs & syntax
- Excel (desktop): official documentation
- Google Sheets: official documentation
- LibreOffice Calc: official documentation