If or formula in excel 2013

Logical functions are designed to test one or several conditions, and perform the actions prescribed for each of the two possible results. Such results can only be logical TRUE or FALSE.

Excel contains several logical functions such as IF, IFERROR, SUMIF, AND, OR, and others. The last two are not used in practice, as a rule, because the result of their calculations may be one of only two possible options (TRUE, FALSE). When combined with the IF function, they are able to significantly expand its functionality.



Examples of using formulas with IF, AND, OR functions in Excel

Example 1. When calculating the cost of the amount of consumed kW of electricity for subscribers, the following conditions are taken into account:

1. If less than 3 people live in the apartment or less than 100 kW of electricity was consumed per month, the rate per 1 kW is 4.35$.
2. In other cases, the rate for 1 kW is 5.25$.

Calculate the amount payable per month for several subscribers.

View source data table:

Perform the calculation according to the formula:

Argument Description:

• OR (B3<=2,C3<100) is a logical expression that verifies two conditions: do less than 3 people live in the apartment or does the total amount of energy consumed less than 100 kW? The result of the test will be TRUE if either of these two conditions is true;
• C3 * 4.35 — the amount to be paid, if the OR function returns TRUE;
• C3 * 5.25 is the amount to be paid if OR returns FALSE.

We stretch the formula for the remaining cells using the autocomplete function. The result of the calculation for each subscriber:

Using the AND function in the formula in the first argument in the IF function, we check the conformity of the values by two conditions at once.



Formula with IF and AVERAGE functions for selecting of values by conditions

Example 2. Applicants entering the university for the specialty «mechanical engineer» are required to pass 3 exams in mathematics, physics and English. The maximum score for each exam is 100. The average passing score for 3 exams is 75, while the minimum score in physics must be at least 70 points, and in mathematics it is 80. Determine applicants who have successfully passed the exams.

View source table:

To determine the enrolled students use the formula:

Argument Description:

• AND(B4>=80,C4>=70,AVERAGE(B4:D4)>=75) — checked logical expressions according to the condition of the problem;
• «Enroll» — the result, if the function AND returned the value TRUE (all expressions represented as its arguments, as a result of the calculations returned the value TRUE);
• «Not Enroll» — the result if AND returned FALSE.

Using the autocomplete function (double-click on the cursor marker in the lower right corner), we get the rest of the results:

Formula with logical functions AND IF OR in excel

Example 3. Subsidies in the amount of 30% are charged to families with an average income below 8,000$, which are large or there is no main breadwinner. If the number of children is over 5, the amount of the subsidy is 50%. Determine who should receive subsidies and who should not.

View source table:

To check the criteria according to the condition of the problem, we write the formula:

Argument Description:

• AND(B3<8000,OR(C3=TRUE,E3=FALSE)) is the checked expression according to the condition of the problem. In this case, the AND function returns the TRUE value, if B3 <8000 is true and at least one of the expressions passed as arguments to the OR function also returns the TRUE value.
• The nested IF function performs a check on the number of children in the family, which rely on subsidies.
• If the main condition returned the result is FALSE, the main function IF returns the text string “no”.

Perform the calculation for the first family and stretch the formula to the remaining cells using the autocomplete function. Results:

Features of using logical functions IF, AND, OR in Excel

The IF function has the following syntax notation:

=IF(Logical_test,[ Value_if_True ],[ Value_if_False])

As you can see, by default, you can check only one condition, for example, is e3 more than 20? Using the IF function, this check can be done as follows:

=IF(EXP(3)>20,»more»,»less»)

As a result, the text string “more” will be returned. If we need to find out if any value belongs to the specified interval, we will need to compare this value with the upper and lower limits of the intervals, respectively. For example, is the result of calculating e3 in the range from 20 to 25? When using the IF function alone, you must enter the following entry:

=IF(EXP(3)>20,IF(EXP(3)<25,»belongs»,»does not belong»),»does not belong»)

We have a nested function IF as one of the possible results of the implementation of the main function IF, and therefore the syntax looks somewhat cumbersome. If you also need to know, for example, whether the square root e3 is equal to a numeric value from a fractional number range from 4 to 5, the final formula will look cumbersome and unreadable.

It is much easier to use as a condition a complex expression that can be written using AND and OR functions. For example, the above function can be rewritten as follows:

=IF(AND(EXP(3)>20,EXP(3)<25),»belongs»,»does not belong»)

The result of the execution of the AND expression (EXP(3)>20,EXP(3)<25) can be a logical value TRUE only if the result of checking each of the specified conditions is a logical value TRUE. In other words, the function AND allows you to test one, two or more hypotheses on their truth, and returns the result FALSE if at least one of them is incorrect.

Sometimes you want to know if at least one assumption is true. In this case, it is convenient to use the OR function, which performs the check of one or several logical expressions and returns a logical TRUE, if the result of the calculations of at least one of them is a logical TRUE. For example, you want to know if e3 is an integer or a number that is less than 100? To test this condition, you can use the following formula:

=IF(OR(MOD(EXP(3),1)<>0,EXP(3)<100),»true»,»false»)

The “<>” means inequality, that is, more or less than some value. In this case, both expressions return the value TRUE, and the result of the execution of the IF function is the text string «true.» However, if an OR test was performed (MOD(EXP (3),1)<>0,EXP(3)<20, while EXP(3) <20 will return FALSE, the result of the calculation of the IF function will not change, since MOD(EXP(3),1) <> 0 returns TRUE.

Download examples using the functions OR AND IF in Excel

In practice, often used bundles IF + AND, IF + OR, or all three functions at once. Consider examples of similar use of these functions.

In this tutorial I will show you how to use the Excel Logical functions such as IF, AND and OR. They are super useful if you need to calculate some values based on some logical criteria.

For example you only want a field to show you a number when another field is bigger than a specific value. In the following I’ll teach you how to do this:

IF Function

If you need to check whether a condition is met in one of your workbooks then use Excel’s IF Function.

The IF function checks whether a condition is met and returns a specific value you select when it’s true, and another one when it’s false. Note that you can choose which values are returned by Excel.

Insert the following function in your Excel workbook:

=IF(A1>5,"Correct","Incorrect")

Excel will now check whether the value of cell A1 is greater than 5 and will return Correct if it’s true and Incorrect if it’s false in the cell where you inserted the IF Function.

Note that the IF Function returns Correct because the value in cell A1 is greater than 5.

How to use the AND Function

If you need to check whether multiple conditions are met in your Excel workbook then use the AND Function. The AND Function returns TRUE if all criteria are met and FALSE if any one of multiple criteria is not met.

Insert the following function in your Excel workbook:

=IF(AND(A1>5,B1>20), "Correct","Incorrect")

Excel will now check whether the value of cell A1 is greater than 5 the value of cell B1 is greater than 20. If both conditions are true, Excel will return Correct and if any of them is false Excel will return Incorrect in the cell where you inserted the IF Function.

Note that the AND Function returns FALSE since the value in cell B1 is not higher than 20.

How to use the OR function in Excel

If you need to check whether one of several conditions is met in your Excel workbook then use the OR Function. The OR Function returns TRUE if any of several conditions is met and FALSE if none of the conditions are met.

Insert the following formula in your Excel workbook:

=IF(OR(A1>5,B1>20),"Correct","Incorrect")

Excel will now check if the value of cell A1 is greater than 5, if the value of cell B1 is greater than 20, or if both conditions are met. If either one or both are true, then Excel will return Correct while it will return Incorrect in the cell where you inserted the IF Function in case none of the criteria are met.

The OR Function returns TRUE since the value in cell A1 is greater than 5.

To show how powerful this can be, know that you can use AND and OR functions to check up to 255 conditions simultaneously.

That’s it for logical functions in Excel. I hope that this tutorials was helpful in explaining the concepts of logical functions in Excel to you.

Can you tell me in the comments if and how you’re using one of the IF, AND, or OR functions already? I’d love to learn what you do.

The IF function helps to determine what will be displayed to those who view your worksheets in Excel. Because of its purpose, it’s one of the most important functions you will learn. IF functions can be used to add comments to your data. They can also be used to hide errors in calculations.

In this article, we will learn about:

• The IF function

• The IFNA and IFERROR functions

• Nesting IF functions

• The AND operator

• The OR operator

• The NOT operator

• Displaying formulas from one cell in another

The syntax for the IF function is =IF. This lets Excel know that it is an IF function.

Then, we begin the formula that Excel will use to produce the results we want.

We start with an opening bracket:

Next, we add the evaluation criteria. For example, is six greater than three? The evaluation criteria asks a question. The question has two outcomes. If the answer (or outcome) is correct, such as «Yes, six is greater than three,» then the answer is true. If not it is false.

If it’s true, we put what happens when the answer is true.

If it’s false, we put what happens when it’s false.

In the worksheet below, we have a list of employees, followed by the rating they received as part of their annual review. 

Now, we want to add another column called Comments.   In this column, we want to add comments about the scores. This way, when a manager looks at the worksheet, he/she doesn’t need to worry themselves with the actual rating – and what that means. They can simply look in comments.

To add a comment based on the rating, we are going to use the IF function.

We have started the formula in the snapshot above.

We have said if the employee’s rating is less than fifty…

Now we enter what happens.

If it is correct that the employee’s rating is less than fifty, the comment should be «needs significant improvement.   However, if it’s false and if the rating is not less than fifty, the comment should be needs improvement.

Notice that we use quotation marks to enter the comments into the formula. 

Now, add an end bracket, then push Enter.

Since this contains a formula where all are cell references are relative, you can use the handle in the lower right corner of the cell, then drag it down to complete the comments for the other employees.

You can also use the IF function to hide Excel error messages.

Let’s show you what we mean by taking a look at the worksheet below.

In this worksheet, we have a formula that will divide cell C2 by cell D2.

If we push enter in cell A2, it will give us the answer.

However, let’s say the data in cell D2 is missing.

When we push Enter, we see an error message.

We can use the IF function to hide this error message.

To do this, we write the formula below:

Let’s translate what it says.   If D2 equals 0, enter two dashes into cell A2 where we have our formula. If it doesn’t equal zero, then go ahead and divide cell C2 by D2.

If we would put the number five back into cell D2 and leave the IF formula in place, we would see the answer to C2/D2.

Here’s our worksheet below. We have hidden the error message with two dashes.

NOTE: All of the IF functions appear under the Formulas tab and by clicking the Logical button. From there, you can access the Function Arguments dialogue box.

The IFNA and IFERROR Functions

The IFNA function tells Excel what to do if an #NA error is produced, whereas the isna tells Excel what to do if the returned value is #NA. 

The #NA error appears in a cell when a value is not available to a formula.

If in our worksheet below, we wanted to find the mode, we would enter this formula:

When we push Enter, the result is displayed.

However, if we went back and changed the second instance of the number four to a six, we would see an #NA error because the value needed is not available to determine the mode.

To avoid #NA values from appearing, we could use the new IFNA function.

It would be entered like this:

All of the IF functions appear under the Formulas tab and by clicking the Logical button. The easiest way to use the IFNA function is to click the Logical button, then select IFNA.

Below you can see the dialogue box for the IFNA function.

The IFERROR function can be used as a general «cover all» for any errors that might appear in your data. You can use it to specify what will be entered if any error occurs in the calculation of a formula.

It is written the same way as an IF function. However, instead of writing IF, you would write IFERROR. You can access the dialogue box for IFERROR by going to the Logical button under the Formulas tab.

Nesting IF Statements

Just as with VLOOKUPs and HLOOKUPs, you can nest an IF statement within an IF statement.

In our worksheet below, we have a list of friends, along with their ages.

We could create a simple IF formula to enter comments.

This says if the age is greater than 50, then the comment is getting older. If it’s less than 50, then they’re still young.

If we nest an IF statement within the current IF statement, we would keep the evaluation criteria, but we would replace one of the outcomes with our new IF statement. However, keep in mind, then when you nest an IF statement, you do not need another equal sign.

Take a look at our new formula below:

We have our original IF statement intact. We have highlighted the first part of it below.

If the age is greater than 50, followed by the two outcomes.

As you can see in our formula above, the TRUE outcome has another IF statement.

The nested IF statement tells Excel that if the age is greater than 70, enter the comment «old.» If it’s not, enter getting older. 

Our worksheet is shown below with the nested IF statements determining what comment is displayed.

Now, let’s break this down into easy to understand terms.

When you enter the formula above with a nested IF statement, Excel reads the first IF statement. It looks at your criteria, then the outcomes for the criteria.

If the outcome for the first IF statement is true, Excel is then going to perform another IF statement to determine what appears in the comments.   It will put «old» if the age is greater than 70. It will put getting older if it’s not greater than 70.   It’s very important to remember that these two outcomes both serve as your TRUE outcome for the first IF function. 

Now, if your original IF statement returns a FALSE outcome, then Excel will enter «still young.»

A nested IF statement gives you a way to enter more than one response for an outcome.

We used a nested if statement for the TRUE outcome. However, you can also use a nested IF statement for a FALSE outcome.

If the nested IF statements are still confusing to you, remember it this way: the nested IF statement provides two additional outcomes for either the TRUE or FALSE outcome of your original IF statement. 

Using the AND Operator in an IF Statement

You use the AND operator within an IF statement if you have more than one criteria that needs to be true. Using the AND operator can sometimes be easier to write than multiple nested IF statements.

Take a look at the worksheet below.

In it, we have a list of students and their grades for the four grading periods.

Each student must have earned greater than 80% in each quarter in order to receive an award. We will use the AND operator to set this as criteria.

Take a look at how at the formula bar to see how we wrote this.