Error: Incorrect number of parameters for function 'if()'. Expected 3, received 4: Any idea why might be error?

Question

if( CONTAINS("206:209:213:253:310:323:360:408:415:425:503:509:510:530:559:562:604:619:626:650:661:702:707:714:760:775:778:805:818:831:858:867:909:916:925:949:951:971:236:250:604:778:867", left(SUBSTITUTE( Phone , "(", ""),3)),"UTC-7 Pacific",

if(

CONTAINS("208:250:303:307:385403:406:435:480:505:520:602:623:719:720:780:801:928:970:403:587:780", left(SUBSTITUTE( Phone , "(", ""),3)),"UTC-6 Mountain",

if(

CONTAINS("808", left(SUBSTITUTE( Phone , "(", ""),3)),"UTC-10 US/Hawaii",

if(

CONTAINS("907", left(SUBSTITUTE( Phone , "(", ""),3)),"UTC-8 US/Alaska",

if(

CONTAINS("204:205:210:214:217:218:224:225:228:251:254:256:262:270:281:306:308:309:312:314:316:318:319:320:325:334:337:361:402:405:409:414:417:430:432:469:479:501:504:507:512:515:563:573:580:601:605:608:612:615:618:620:630:636:641:651:660:662:682:708:712:713:715:731:763:769:773:785:806:815:816:817:830:832:847:901:903:913:915:918:920:931:936:940:952:956:972:979:985:204:306:431:639:807", left(SUBSTITUTE( Phone , "(", ""),3)),"UTC-5 Central",

if(

CONTAINS("201:202:203:207:212:215:216:219:226:229:231:234:239:240:248:252:267:269:276:289:301:302:304:305:313:315:321:330:336:339:345:347:351:352:386:404:407:410:412:416:418:419:434:438:440:443:450:470:475:478:484:502:508:513:514:516:517:518:519:540:551:561:567:570:571:585:586:603:606:607:609:610:613:614:616:617:631:646:647:649:678:703:704:705:706:716:717:718:724:727:732:734:740:754:757:770:772:774:781:786:802:803:804:810:813:814:819:828:835:843:845:848:856:857:859:860:862:863:864:865:876:878:904:905:908:910:912:914:917:919:937:941:947:954:959:973:978:980:226:249:289:343:365:416:437:438:450:514:519:579:581:613:647:705:819:873:905", left(SUBSTITUTE( Phone , "(", ""),3)),"UTC-4 Eastern",

if(

CONTAINS("506:709:902",LEFT(SUBSTITUTE(Phone,"(",""),3)),"UTC-3 Atlantic",

if(

CONTAINS("800:877",LEFT(SUBSTITUTE(Phone,"(",""),3)),"Toll Free","Other",

IF(CONTAINS("American Samoa", Country ), "UTC-11 American Samoa",

IF(CONTAINS("Mexico", Country ), "UTC-7 US/Pacific",

IF(CONTAINS("Belize,Chile,Costa Rica,El Salvador,Guatemala,Honduras,Nicaragua", Country ), "UTC-6 US/Mountain",

IF(CONTAINS("Brazil,Cayman Islands,Colombia,Ecuador,Jamaica,Panama,Peru", Country ), "UTC-5 America/Panama",

IF(CONTAINS("Cuba,Dominican Republic,Puerto Rico,Virgin Islands,Venezuela,Bahamas,Curacao", Country ), "UTC-3 America/Argentina",

IF(CONTAINS("Argentina,Uruguay,Bermuda", Country ), "UTC-3 America/Argentina",

IF(CONTAINS("Portugal,Ghana", Country ), "UTC +00:00 Azores",

IF(CONTAINS("United Kingdom,London,England,Wales,Scotland,Ireland,Algeria,Morocco,Nigeria", Country ), "UTC +1 Europe/London",

IF(CONTAINS("Croatia,Denmark,France,Germany,Hungary,Italy,Netherlands,Norway,Poland,South Africa,Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,Austria,Botswana,Egypt,Zambia", Country ), "UTC +2 Europe/Amsterdam",

IF(CONTAINS("Bulgaria,Finland,Greece,Iraq,Israel,Kenya,Romania,Syria,Turkey,Ukraine,Yemen,Russia,Cyprus,Ethiopia,Jordan,Kuwait,Saudi Arabia,Tanzania", Country ), "UTC +3 Europe/Moscow",

IF(CONTAINS("Oman,United Arab Emirates,UAE", Country ), "UTC +4 Asia/Muscat",

IF(CONTAINS("Pakistan", Country ), "UTC +5 Asia/Karachi",

IF(CONTAINS("Sri Lanka,India", Country ), "UTC+5.5 Asia/India",

IF(CONTAINS("Kazakhstan,Bangladesh", Country ), "UTC+6 Asia/Almaty",

IF(CONTAINS("Cambodia,Vietnam,Thailand,Indonesia", Country ), "UTC+7 Asia/Bangkok",

IF(CONTAINS("China,Taiwan,Hong Kong,Philippines,Singapore,Malaysia", Country ), "UTC+8 Asia/Hong Kong",

IF(CONTAINS("Japan,North Korea,South Korea", Country ), "UTC+9 Asia/Tokyo",

IF(CONTAINS("Australia,Guam,Papua New Guinea", Country ), "UTC+10 Australia/Sydney",

IF(CONTAINS("New Zealand", Country ), "UTC+12 Pacific/Auckland",

IF(ISBLANK(Country),NULL,"--"))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Answer 1

Well, in trying to format that moster you have there, the first issue I saw was about 1/3 of the way into the formula.

With some helpful comments added and proper formatting

IF(
    /* logical test */
    CONTAINS("800:877", LEFT(SUBSTITUTE(Phone,"(",""), 3)),
    /* value if true */
    "Toll Free",
    /* This is an extra value, the thing causing your issue */
    "Other",
    /* Next IF in the IF-ELSE IF chain */
    IF(
        CONTAINS("American Samoa", Country),
        ...

This may not be the only issue (I'd be surprised if this managed to fit within the character and compiled size limits for formulas), but it's the issue the error is complaining about.

As the error says, IF() takes 3 parameters (each separated with a comma), so if you see more than two commas between the end of your CONTAINS() and the next IF(), then you've made a mistake. Regex can help in finding a pattern like that. The one I worked out (given the formatting you've used here) is \),(".*",){2,}\n{1,2}IF, which appears to only have one match.

Answer 2

I decided to reorder to the conditions to be easier to read. You had an extra parentheses on the left(substitute(phone, "(", ""), 3))). You also had an if statement that was messed up as a result of this. After untangling all of this, the "--" option didn't seem to fit anywhere, so I left it out. Here's the resulting formula:

if( ISBLANK(Country), NULL, 
if( CONTAINS("American Samoa", Country), "UTC-11 American Samoa", 
if( CONTAINS("Mexico", Country  ), "UTC-7 US/Pacific", 
if( CONTAINS("Belize,Chile,Costa Rica,El Salvador,Guatemala,Honduras,Nicaragua", Country ), "UTC-6 US/Mountain", 
if( CONTAINS("Brazil,Cayman Islands,Colombia,Ecuador,Jamaica,Panama,Peru", Country ), "UTC-5 America/Panama", 
if( CONTAINS("Cuba,Dominican Republic,Puerto Rico,Virgin Islands,Venezuela,Bahamas,Curacao", Country ), "UTC-3 America/Argentina", 
if( CONTAINS("Argentina,Uruguay,Bermuda", Country ), "UTC-3 America/Argentina", 
if( CONTAINS("Portugal,Ghana", Country ), "UTC +00:00 Azores", 
if( CONTAINS("United Kingdom,London,England,Wales,Scotland,Ireland,Algeria,Morocco,Nigeria", Country ), "UTC +1 Europe/London", 
if( CONTAINS( "Croatia,Denmark,France,Germany,Hungary,Italy,Netherlands,Norway,Poland,South Africa,Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,Austria,Botswana,Egypt,Zambia", Country ), "UTC +2 Europe/Amsterdam", 
if( CONTAINS( "Bulgaria,Finland,Greece,Iraq,Israel,Kenya,Romania,Syria,Turkey,Ukraine,Yemen,Russia,Cyprus,Ethiopia,Jordan,Kuwait,Saudi Arabia,Tanzania", Country ), "UTC +3 Europe/Moscow", 
if( CONTAINS("Oman,United Arab Emirates,UAE", Country ), "UTC +4 Asia/Muscat", 
if( CONTAINS("Pakistan", Country ), "UTC +5 Asia/Karachi", 
if( CONTAINS("Sri Lanka,India", Country ), "UTC+5.5 Asia/India", 
if( CONTAINS("Kazakhstan,Bangladesh", Country ), "UTC+6 Asia/Almaty", 
if( CONTAINS("Cambodia,Vietnam,Thailand,Indonesia", Country ), "UTC+7 Asia/Bangkok", 
if( CONTAINS("China,Taiwan,Hong Kong,Philippines,Singapore,Malaysia", Country ), "UTC+8 Asia/Hong Kong", 
if( CONTAINS("Japan,North Korea,South Korea", Country ), "UTC+9 Asia/Tokyo", 
if( CONTAINS("Australia,Guam,Papua New Guinea", Country ), "UTC+10 Australia/Sydney", 
if( CONTAINS("New Zealand", Country ), "UTC+12 Pacific/Auckland", 
if( CONTAINS( "206:209:213:253:310:323:360:408:415:425:503:509:510:530:559:562:604:619:626:650:661:702:707:714:760:775:778:805:818:831:858:867:909:916:925:949:951:971:236:250:604:778:867", left(SUBSTITUTE( Phone , "(", ""),3) ), "UTC-7 Pacific", 
if( CONTAINS( "208:250:303:307:385403:406:435:480:505:520:602:623:719:720:780:801:928:970:403:587:780", left(SUBSTITUTE( Phone , "(", ""),3) ), "UTC-6 Mountain", 
if( CONTAINS("808", left(SUBSTITUTE( Phone , "(", ""),3)), "UTC-10 US/Hawaii", 
if( CONTAINS("907", left(SUBSTITUTE( Phone , "(", ""),3)), "UTC-8 US/Alaska", 
if( CONTAINS( "204:205:210:214:217:218:224:225:228:251:254:256:262:270:281:306:308:309:312:314:316:318:319:320:325:334:337:361:402:405:409:414:417:430:432:469:479:501:504:507:512:515:563:573:580:601:605:608:612:615:618:620:630:636:641:651:660:662:682:708:712:713:715:731:763:769:773:785:806:815:816:817:830:832:847:901:903:913:915:918:920:931:936:940:952:956:972:979:985:204:306:431:639:807", left(SUBSTITUTE( Phone , "(", ""),3) ), "UTC-5 Central", 
if( CONTAINS( "201:202:203:207:212:215:216:219:226:229:231:234:239:240:248:252:267:269:276:289:301:302:304:305:313:315:321:330:336:339:345:347:351:352:386:404:407:410:412:416:418:419:434:438:440:443:450:470:475:478:484:502:508:513:514:516:517:518:519:540:551:561:567:570:571:585:586:603:606:607:609:610:613:614:616:617:631:646:647:649:678:703:704:705:706:716:717:718:724:727:732:734:740:754:757:770:772:774:781:786:802:803:804:810:813:814:819:828:835:843:845:848:856:857:859:860:862:863:864:865:876:878:904:905:908:910:912:914:917:919:937:941:947:954:959:973:978:980:226:249:289:343:365:416:437:438:450:514:519:579:581:613:647:705:819:873:905", left(SUBSTITUTE( Phone , "(", ""),3) ), "UTC-4 Eastern", 
if( CONTAINS("506:709:902",LEFT(SUBSTITUTE(Phone,"(",""),3)), "UTC-3 Atlantic", 
if( CONTAINS("800:877",LEFT(SUBSTITUTE(Phone,"(",""),3)), "Toll Free", "Other" ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

This may fail to compile for other reasons, but this looks fairly reasonable.