converts text to a number. text may represent: a number, including fractions, exponential notation and (locale dependent) decimal point and thousands separator; a percentage; or a date or time (the datetime serial number is returned).
Example:
VALUE("12")
returns 12 as a number.
VALUE("1,234.56")
returns 1234.56 if your locale recognizes the thousands-separator ',' and decimal point '.'.
VALUE("1 1/2")
returns 1.5 (fraction).
VALUE("1E3")
returns 1000 (exponential notation).
VALUE("50%")
returns 0.5 (percentage).
VALUE("2009-04-03")
returns the datetime serial number for 3rd April 2009.