What are the formulas for excel

Seven Basic Excel Formulas For Your Workflow

• =SUM(number1, [number2], …)
• =SUM(A2:A8) – A simple selection that sums the values of a column.
• =SUM(A2:A8)/20 – Shows you can also turn your function into a formula.
• =AVERAGE(number1, [number2], …)
• =AVERAGE(B2:B11) – Shows a simple average, also similar to (SUM(B2:B11)/10)

Top 10 Most Useful Excel Formulas

• SUM, COUNT, AVERAGE. SUM allows you to sum any number of columns or rows by selecting them or typing them in, for example, =SUM(A1:A8) would sum all values in between A1 and A8 and so on.
• IF STATEMENTS.
• SUMIF, COUNTIF, AVERAGEIF.
• VLOOKUP.
• CONCATENATE.
• MAX & MIN.
• AND.
• PROPER.

What are the 5 functions in Excel?

5 Functions of Excel/Sheets That Every Professional Should Know

• VLookup Formula.
• Concatenate Formula.
• Text to Columns.
• Remove Duplicates.
• Pivot Tables.

What are formulas and functions in MS Excel?

So, what do we call an Excel formula and Excel function? Formula is an expression that calculates values in a cell or in a range of cells. For example, =A2+A2+A3+A4 is a formula that adds up the values in cells A2 through A4. Function is a predefined formula already available in Excel.

What does VLOOKUP stand for?

Vertical Lookup
VLOOKUP stands for ‘Vertical Lookup‘. It is a function that makes Excel search for a certain value in a column (the so called ‘table array’), in order to return a value from a different column in the same row.

What are the shortcuts in Excel?

Microsoft Excel keyboard shortcuts

• Ctrl + N: To create a new workbook.
• Ctrl + O: To open a saved workbook.
• Ctrl + S: To save a workbook.
• Ctrl + A: To select all the contents in a workbook.
• Ctrl + B: To turn highlighted cells bold.
• Ctrl + C: To copy cells that are highlighted.
• Ctrl + D:

How is Vlookup used in Excel?

VLOOKUP is an Excel function to look up data in a table organized vertically. VLOOKUP supports approximate and exact matching, and wildcards (* ?) for partial matches. Lookup values must appear in the first column of the table passed into VLOOKUP.lookup_value – The value to look for in the first column of a table.

What are the 3 common uses for Excel?

The three most common general uses for spreadsheet software are to create budgets, produce graphs and charts, and for storing and sorting data. Within business spreadsheet software is used to forecast future performance, calculate tax, completing basic payroll, producing charts and calculating revenues.

How do I learn Excel formulas?

To enter a formula, execute the following steps.

1. Select a cell.
2. To let Excel know that you want to enter a formula, type an equal sign (=).
3. For example, type the formula A1+A2. Tip: instead of typing A1 and A2, simply select cell A1 and cell A2.
4. Change the value of cell A1 to 3.

How many Excel formulas are there?

Excel has over 475 formulas in its Functions Library, from simple mathematics to very complex statistical, logical, and engineering tasks such as IF statements (one of our perennial favorite stories); AND, OR, NOT functions; COUNT, AVERAGE, and MIN/MAX.

What is a label in Excel?

In a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel, a label is text in a cell, usually describing data in the rows or columns surrounding it.When referring to a chart, a label is any text over a section of a chart that gives additional information about the charts value.

What is concatenate in Excel?

The word concatenate is just another way of saying “to combine” or “to join together”. The CONCATENATE function allows you to combine text from different cells into one cell. In our example, we can use it to combine the text in column A and column B to create a combined name in a new column.

What is an Xlookup in Excel?

Use the XLOOKUP function to find things in a table or range by row.With XLOOKUP, you can look in one column for a search term, and return a result from the same row in another column, regardless of which side the return column is on.

How use Vlookup step by step?

How to use VLOOKUP in Excel

1. Step 1: Organize the data.
2. Step 2: Tell the function what to lookup.
3. Step 3: Tell the function where to look.
4. Step 4: Tell Excel what column to output the data from.
5. Step 5: Exact or approximate match.

What are the 20 shortcut keys?

Basic Windows keyboard shortcuts

• Ctrl+Z: Undo. No matter what program you’re running, Ctrl+Z will roll back your last action.
• Ctrl+W: Close.
• Ctrl+A: Select all.
• Alt+Tab: Switch apps.
• Alt+F4: Close apps.
• Win+D: Show or hide the desktop.
• Win+left arrow or Win+right arrow: Snap windows.
• Win+Tab: Open the Task view.

What is Ctrl P?

Alternatively referred to as Control+P and C-p, Ctrl+P is a keyboard shortcut most often used to print a document or page. Tip. On Apple computers, the keyboard shortcut for print is Command + P .

What is Ctrl R in Excel?

Ctrl+R in Excel and other spreadsheet programs
In Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheet programs, pressing Ctrl+R fills the row cell to the right with the contents of the selected cell. To fill more than one cell, select the source cell and press Ctrl+Shift+Right arrow to select multiple cells.

What is table array in Excel?

And Table Array is the combination of two or more than two tables which has data and values linked and related to one another. Although headers may be a quite different relation of those data with each other will be seen. Start Your Free Excel Course.

What is index match in Excel?

The INDEX MATCH function is one of Excel’s most powerful features. The older brother of the much-used VLOOKUP , INDEX MATCH allows you to look up values in a table based off of other rows and columns. And, unlike VLOOKUP , it can be used on rows, columns, or both at the same time.

What is IF function in Excel?

The IF function is one of the most popular functions in Excel, and it allows you to make logical comparisons between a value and what you expect. So an IF statement can have two results. The first result is if your comparison is True, the second if your comparison is False.

What are types of spreadsheet?

Best spreadsheet software options

• Microsoft Excel.
• Apple Numbers.
• Quip.
• EtherCalc.
• Zoho Sheets.
• LibreOffice.
• Apache OpenOffice Calc.
• Smartsheet.

The Excel Formulas Ultimate Guide 

Introduction to Excel Formulas

In this guide, we are going to cover everything you need to know about Excel Formulas. Learning how to create a formula in Excel is the building block to the exciting journey to become an Excel Expert. So, let’s get started!

What is an Excel Formula?

Excel Formulas are often referred to as Excel Functions and it’s no big deal but there is a difference, a function is a piece of code that executes a predefined calculation, and a formula is an equation created by the user.

A formula is an expression that operates on values in a cell or range of cells. An example of a formula looks like this: = A2 + A3 + A4 + A5. This formula will result in the sum of the range of values from cell A2 to cell A5.

A function is a predetermined formula in Excel. It shows calculations in a particular order defined by its parameters. An example of a function is =SUM (A2, A5). This function will also provide the addition of values in the range of cells from A2 to A5 but here instead of specifying each cell address we are using the SUM function.

How To Write Excel Formulas

Let’s look at how to write a formula on MS Excel. To begin with, a formula always starts with a ‘+’ or ‘=’ sign, if you start writing the formula without any of these two signs, Excel will treat the value in that cell as text and will not perform any function.

In the screenshot below, you need to calculate the total sales amount by multiplying quantity sold with unit price. Select cell D2, type the formula ‘=B2*C2’ and press Enter. The result will display on cell D2.

Apply A Formula To An Entire Column Or Range

To copy a formula to adjacent cells, you can do the following:

1. Select the cell with the formula and the adjacent cells you want to fill, then drag the fill handle.

1. Select the cell with the formula and the adjacent cells you want to fill, then press Ctrl+D to fill the formula down in a column, or Ctrl+R to fill the formula to the right in a row.
2. Select the cell with the formula and the adjacent cells you want to fill, then Click Home > Fill, and choose either Down, Right, Up, or Left.

How to Copy A Formula And Paste It

Excel allows you to copy the formula entered in a cell and paste it on to another cell, which can save both time and effort. To copy paste a formula:

1. Select the cell whose formula you wish to copy
2. Press Ctrl + C to copy the content
3. Select the cell or cells where you wish to paste the formula. The copied cells will now have a dashed box around them.
4. Press Alt + E + S to open the paste special box and select ‘Formula’ or Press “F’ to paste the formula.

1. The formula will be pasted into the selected cells.

Basic Excel Formulas

Let’s start off with simple Excel Formulas. In the screenshot below, there are two columns containing numbers and we would like to use different operators like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division on those to get different results. Excel uses standard operators for formulas, such as a plus sign for addition (+), a minus sign for subtraction (-), an asterisk for multiplication (*), a forward slash for division (/).

• Addition– To add values in the two columns, simply type the formula =A2+B2 on cell C2 and then copy paste the same on the cells below.
• Subtraction – To subtract values in Column B from Column A, simply type the formula =B2-A2 on cell C2 and then copy paste the same on the cells below.
• Multiplication – To multiply values in the two columns, simply type the formula =A2*B2 on cell C2 and then copy paste the same on the cells below.
• Division – To divide values in Column a by values in Column B, simply type the formula =A2/B2 on cell C2 and then copy paste the same on the cells below.

We can also calculate the percentage using Excel Formulas. In the image below, we have sales in Year 1 and Year 2 and we would like to know the % growth in sales from Year 1 to Year 2.

To do that, select cell C2 and type the formula = (B2 – A2)/B2*100

Basic Excel Functions

A function is a predefined formula that performs calculations using specific values in a particular order. Excel includes many common functions that can be useful for quickly finding the sum, average, count, maximum value, and minimum value for a range of cells. a function must be written a specific way, which is called the syntax.

The basic syntax for a function is an equals sign (=), the function name, and one or more arguments. A Function is generally comprised of two components:

1) A function name -The name of a function indicates the type of math Excel will perform.

2) An argument – It is the values that a function uses to perform operations or calculations. The type of argument a function uses is specific to the function. Common arguments that are used within functions include numbers, text, cell references, and names

Let’s look at some common Excel Functions:

SUM Function

The SUM formula adds 2 or more numbers together. You can use cell references as well in this formula.

Syntax: =SUM(number1, [number2], …)

Example: =SUM(A2:A8) or SUM(A2:A7, A9, A12:A15)

AUTOSUM Function

The AutoSum command allows you to automatically insert the most common functions into your formula, including SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MIN, and MAX.

Select the cell where you want the formula, Go to Home > Click on AutoSum > From the dropdown click on “Sum” > Enter.

COUNT Function

If you wish to how many cells are there in a selected range containing numeric values, you can use the function COUNT. It will only count cells that contain either numbers or dates.

Syntax: =COUNT(value1, [value2], …)

In the example below, you can see that the function skips cell A6 (as it is empty) and cell A11 (as it contains text) and gives you the output 9.

COUNTA Function

Counts the number of non-empty cells in a range. It will include cells that have any character in them and only exclude blank cells.

Syntax: =COUNTA(value1, [value2], …)

In the example below, you can see that only cell A6 is not included, all other 10 cells are

counted.

AVERAGE Function

This function calculates the average of all the values or range of cells included in the parentheses.

Syntax: =AVERAGE(value1, [value2], …)

ROUND Function

This function rounds off a decimal value to the specified number of decimal points. Using the ROUND function, you can round to the right or left of the decimal point.

Syntax: =ROUND(number,num_digit)

This function contains 2 arguments. First, is the number or cell reference containing the number you want to round off and second, number of digits to which the given number should be rounded.

• If the num-digit is greater than 0, then the value will be rounded to the right of the decimal point.
• If the num-digit is less than 0, then the value will be rounded to the left of the decimal point.
• If the num-digit equal to 0, then the value will be rounded to the nearest integer.

MAX Function

 This function returns the highest value in a range of cells provided in the formula.

Syntax: =MAX(value1, [value2], …)

In the example below, we are trying to calculate the maximum value in the dataset from A2 to A13. The formula used is =MAX(A2: A13) and it returns the maximum value i.e. 96.251

MIN Function

This function returns the lowest value in a range of cells provided in the formula.

Syntax: =MIN(value1, [value2], …)

In the example below, we are trying to calculate the minimum value in the dataset from A2 to A13. The formula used is =MIN(A2: A13) and it returns the minimum value i.e. 24.178

TRIM Function

 This function removes all extra spaces in the selected cell. It is very helpful while data cleaning to correct formatting and do further analysis of the data.

Syntax: =trim(cell1)

In the example below, you can see the name in cell A2 contains an extra space, in the beginning, =TRIM(A2) would return “Steve Peterson” with no spaces in a new cell.

Advanced Excel Formulas

Here is a list of Excel Formulas that we would feel comfortable referring to as the top 10 Excel Formulas. These formulas can be used for basic problems or highly advanced problems as well, though advanced excel formulas are nothing but a more creative way of using the formulas. Sure, there are legitimate Advanced Excel Formulas such as Array Formulas but in general the more advanced the problem, the more creative you need to be with Formulas.

Currently, Excel has well over 400 formulas and functions but most of them are not that useful for corporate professionals so here is a list that we believe contains the 10 best Excel formulas.

Starting with number 10 – it’s the IFERROR formula

1. IFERROR Function –
2. SUBTOTAL Function –
3. SMALL/LARGE Function –
4. LEFT Function –
5. RIGHT Function –
6. SUMIF Function –
7. MATCH Function –
8. INDEX Function –
9. VLOOKUP Function –
10. IF Function –

IFERROR Function –

You ever have presented a worksheet that you thought was perfect but were surprised with a “#DIV /0!” error or an “#N/A” error message (See the screenshot below), then this function is perfect for you. Excel has an “IFERROR” function that can automatically replace error messages with a message of your choice.

The IFERROR function has two parameters, the first parameter is typically a formula and the second parameter, value_if_error, is what you want Excel to do if value, the first parameter, results in an error. Value_if_error can be a number, a formula, a reference to another cell, or it can be text if the text is contained in quotes.

That means you can put formula or an expression in the first part of the IFERROR function and Excel will show the result of that formula unless the formula results in an error. If the formula results in an error, Excel will follow the instructions in the second half of the IFERROR formula.

This function cleans up your sheet and it will visually make things look a lot better and more professional.

Let’s see an example to make the concept clearer.

In this example, we have two lists – one contains the names of all people (Column A) and the second list contains the name of award winners only (Column F).

We have used a simple Vlookup function to see if the name is an award winner. The Vlookup function (it is covered later in details) will search the list on the right, if the name is present in the award winner list, it will show the name or else it will show an error.

The N/A error makes the worksheet look dirty and unprofessional. Now we will add iferror function here to remedy the same.

=IFERROR(VLOOKUP(A5,$F$5:$F$10,1,0),””)

IFERROR function will recognize the error and instead of displaying the error message will display the text, say a blank, or you can show any other message that you desire.

IFERROR is a great way to replace Excel-generated error messages with explanations, additional information, or simply leave the cell blank.

SUBTOTAL Function –

The SUBTOTAL function returns the aggregate value of the data provided. You can select any of the 11 functions that SUBTOTAL can calculate like SUM, COUNT, AVERAGE, MAX, MIN, etc. SUBTOTAL Function can also include or exclude values in hidden rows based on the input provided in the function.

Excel’s traditional formulas do not work on filtered data since the function will be performed on both the hidden and visible cells. To perform functions on filtered data one must use the subtotal function.

Syntax: SUBTOTAL(function_num,ref1,…)The first parameter is the name of the function to be used within the subtotal function and the second parameter is the range of cells that should be subtotalled

The list of functions that can be used in given below. If the data is filtered manually, the numbers from 1 – 11 will include the hidden cells and number from 101 – 111 will exclude them.

Let’s understand this function with an example.

Here we have a list of name of person, with their country and the total sales they have achieved in Q1. We will use the subtotal function to calculate the total sales in cell C26. We will also select the function in such a way that it works on filtered data as well.

The formula will be =SUBTOTAL (109,C5:C24)

This will display the total sales. Now, we filter the data to see the sales made by people in US only. You will see the value in the cell containing the SUBTOTAL function updates and it filters the dataset and displays the total sales made by US only.

Here is another benefit of using a SUBTOTAL function:

When you’re creating an information summary, especially like a profit and loss statement where you’ve got lots of subtotals, what you can do is you can use the subtotal formula, and then at the end, you can put a big old formula right at the end and it will just ignore your subtotal.

Here we have 4 different tables for sales in 4 different countries.

We can add individual SUBTOTAL functions for each table and then a grand total function in the end. The SUBTOTAL function in the end will ignore all the other SUBTOTAL functions above it and will provide you the total sales.

SMALL/LARGE Function –

Here, we have two formulas and they’re two sides of the same coin – the small formula and the large function. So, imagine you’ve got a list of, let’s say, sales data or cost data and what SMALL Function will do is provide you with the smallest value in the data set. You can also specify if you want the first smallest or second smallest. Similarly, with the large formula, you can extract the largest value in this dataset, the second largest and so on.

Syntax: =LARGE(array,k); SMALL(array,k)

The first parameter is the range of data for which you want to determine the k-th largest value and the second is the position (from the largest/smallest) in the cell range of the value to return.

Now, in the dataset above if you want to know the person who has achieved the highest sales, you can use the LARGE function – =LARGE($C$4:$C$23,E5). We have used E5 for the second parameter as it contains the value 1. If we copy paste the formula in the cells below, you will get the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th largest value in the dataset. Similarly, we have used the function SMALL to get the value for lowest sales.

LEFT & RIGHT Function –

A lot of people work on text manipulation with functions like text to columns or even do it manually but being able to extract the exact number of characters that you want from the left or the right side of a string is absolutely invaluable. This is what the LEFT and RIGHT function does – it extracts a given number of characters from the left/right side of a supplied text string.

Syntax: =LEFT (text, [num_chars]) and RIGHT(text,num_chars)

The first parameter is the text string containing the characters you want to extract and the second parameter specifies how many characters you want LEFT/RIGHT to extract; 1 if omitted.

In the example given below, we have full names of people and we would like to extract the first name. We can surely do it using text to column, but using the LEFT function will give us a more automated result. So, let’s see how it can be done.

When you look at the data, you can see that a character is common in all names and it separates the first name and last name – it is a “space”. If we can find out the position of space in each cell, we can easily extract the first name.

Does Excel have a formula for this as well? Off course! SEARCH is the function that will come to your rescue.

SEARCH function provides the position of the first occurrence of the specified character.SEARCH (find_text, within_text, start_num) has three parameters – first is the character you want to find, second is the text in which you want to search and third is the character number in Within_text, counting from the left, at which you want to start searching. If omitted, 1 is used.

So, going back to our example, we use the formula SEARCH to find the position of the character – space in Column A. We will need to subtract “1” from the position to get the desired result. The formula will be =SEARCH (“ “,A5)-1 and copy paste it down.

Now we will use the LEFT Function to get the first name. =LEFT(A5,B5) – A5 contains the full name and B5 contains the number of characters from left that contains the first name.

SUMIF(S) Function –

This function is used to conditionally sum up a range of values. It returns the summation of selected range of cells if it satisfies the given criteria. It is like the SUM function because it adds stuff up. But, it allows us to specify conditions for what to include in the result. Criteria can be applied to dates, numbers, and text using logical operators (>,<,<>,=) and wildcards (*,?) for partial matching. For example, SUMIF function can add up the quantity column, but only include those rows where the SKU is equal to, say A200.

Syntax: =SUMIF (range, criteria, [sum_range])

The first argument is the range of values to be tested against the given criteria, second argument is the condition to be tested against each of the values and the last argument is the range of numeric values if the criteria is satisfied. The last argument is optional and if it is omitted then values from the range argument are used instead.

SUMIF can handle one criterion only. For multiple conditional summing – we can use SUMIFS.

The Syntax of this function is =SUMIFS( sum_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, [criteria_range2, criteria2], … ); where sum_range is the range of values to add, criteria_range1 is the range that contains the values to evaluate and criteria1 is the value that criteria_range1 must meet to be included in the sum. You can add additional pairs of criteria range and criteria if further conditions are to be met.

It is advisable to use SUMIFS even if you have only one criteria to evaluate as it will help you to easily modify the function if additional conditions come up over time.

Let’s dive into an example. Below we have data containing name, country in which sales were made, and the different quarterly sales data.

Using SUMIFS function, we would like to calculate the sum of sales in Q1 for the different countries. Now, to get the total sales in UK in Q1, we select the cell I4 and type the formula =SUMIFS(C4:C23,B4:B23,H4). We will then copy paste the formula below to get the result for each country.

INDEX & MATCH Function –

The MATCH function is used to search for an item and return the relative position of that item in a horizontal or vertical list.

Syntax: MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_array, [match_type])

The first argument is the value you want to look up, second is the range of cells being searched and the last argument, which is optimal, tells the MATCH function what sort of lookup to do.

The three acceptable values for match type are 1, 0 and -1. The default value for this argument is 1.

• If the input is 1. MATCH finds the largest value that is less than or equal to the lookup_value. The values in the lookup_array argument must be placed in ascending order.
• If the input is 0. MATCH finds the first value that is exactly equal to the lookup_value. The values in the lookup_array argument can be in any order.
• If the input is -1. MATCH finds the smallest value that is greater than or equal to the lookup_value. The values in the lookup_array argument must be placed in descending order.

For example, if the range A1:A5 contains the values Evelyn Greer, Randy Mueller, Maverick Cooper, Eesha Bevan and Nancie Velez, then the formula =MATCH(“Maverick Cooper”,A1:A5,0) returns the number 3, because Maverick Cooper is the third item in the range.

INDEX

function is used to return the value in the cell based on the row number and column number provided. It can do two-way lookup: where we are retrieving an item from a table at the intersection of a row header and column header.

Syntax: =INDEX (array, row_num, [col_num])

The first argument is the range/array containing the values you want to look up, second is the row number; the row number from which the value is to be fetched (if omitted, Column_num is required) and third is the column number from which the value is to be fetched.

For Example: =INDEX(A1:B6,3,2)

This function will look in the range A1 to B6, and It will return whatever value is housed in Row 3 and Column 2. The answer here will be “India” in cell B3.

As you have seen, Index and Match on their own are effective and powerful formulas but together they are absolutely incredible. Let’s look at it.

Remember that you must tell INDEX Function which row and column number to go to. In the examples above, we hard coded it to a specific number. But instead, we can drop this MATCH function into that space in our formula and make the formula dynamic.

Let’s dive into an example.

Here we have two dropdowns in cell H9 and H11 containing names and quarters. What we want is that, once we select a name in cell H9 and a quarter in cell H11, the corresponding sales for the specified person and quarter appears in cell H14. We will be using INDEX & MATCH to accomplish this.The formula will be: =INDEX($A$3:$F$23,MATCH(H9,$A$3:$A$23,0),MATCH(H11,$A$3:$F$3,0))

This function will take A3:F23 as the range and the first match will use the name mentioned in cell H9 (here, Eesha Bevan) and obtain the position of it in the Name column (A3:A23). This becomes the row number from which the data needs to be taken. Similarly, the second match will use the quarter mentioned in cell H11 (here, Q2 Total Sales) and obtain the position of it in the Quarter’s row (A3:F3). This becomes the column number from which the data needs to be taken. Now, based on the row and column number provided by the Match functions, index function will now provide the required value, i.e. 18,250.

This formula is now dynamic, i.e. if you change the name or quarter in cells H9 or H11 the formula will still work and provide the correct value.

VLOOKUP Function –

This function is not as flexible or powerful as the combination of Index and Match that we talked about just now, however, the reason this is number 2 on the list is simply because it’s quick, flexible, easy to implement and doesn’t put a whole lot of strain on your CPU while calculating.

Vlookup is a vertical lookup function that tries to match a value in the first column of a lookup table and then return an item from a subsequent column.

Syntax: VLOOKUP ( lookup_value , table_array , col_index_num , [range_lookup] )

• Lookup_value:  Is the value to be found in the first column of the table, and can be a value, a reference, or a text string.
• Table_array: This is the lookup table and the first column in this range must contain the lookup_value.
• Col_index_num: This is the column number in table_array from which the matching value should be returned.
• Range_lookup: is a logical value that tells you the type of lookup you want to do. To find the closest match in the first column (sorted in ascending order) use TRUE; to find an exact match use FALSE (if omitted, TRUE is used as default).

In the example above, the first table contains name, country and quarterly sales and the second table contains the country name and nationality.

Now, we have an empty column (Column G) in the first table and we want to use Vlookup to extract the nationality of a person based on the country name mentioned in Column B.

The function will be: =VLOOKUP(B4,$K$3:$L$7,2,0). This function will lookup the value in cell B4 (i.e. UK) in the first column of the range K3:L7 and will return the corresponding value from the second column of the range i.e. British.

IF Function

So, why is this formula so important? Simply because this function gives you the flexibility to control your outcomes. When you can understand and model your outcomes, you can create logic and thus create a business model.

IF function is a logical test that evaluates a condition and returns a value if the condition is met, and another value if it is not met.

Syntax: =IF(logical_test,[value_if_true],[value_if_false])

• Logical test – It is condition that needs to be evaluated. The logical operators that can be used are = (equal to), > (greater than), >= (greater than or equal to), < (less than), <= (less than or equal to) and <> (not equal to).
• Value_if_true – Is the value that is returned if Logical_test is TRUE. If omitted, TRUE is returned.
• Value_if_false – Is the value that is returned if Logical_test is FALSE. If omitted, FALSE is returned.

You can also use OR and AND functions along with IF to test multiple conditions. Example: =IF(AND(logical_test1, logical_test2),[value_if_true],[value_if_false]).

IF functions can also be nested, the FALSE value being replaced by another IF function to make a further test. Example:  =IF(logical_test,[value_if_true,IF(logical_test,[value_if_true],[value_if_false])).

Let’s go through the IF function with an example to discuss it in detail.

In the screenshot above, we have a table that contains the name, country and quarterly sales achieved by different persons. Now, we want to see which persons have been promoted based on the criteria that the total sales achieved by that person is greater than £250,000. In the column for Promotions (Column G), we want the formula to test whether the total sales are greater than £250,000, if it is true then we want the text “Promoted” to be displayed, else a blank.

The formula to be used will be: =IF(C4+D4+E4+F4>250000,”Promoted”,””)

So, this completes our Top 10 Excel formulas. As we have already mentioned there are 400+ Excel formulas available and these 10 best Excel formulas will cover about 70% to 75% of your needs, but if you want to go a little bit more we have a book about the 27 best Excel formulas that will cover pretty much all of your formula requirements. The best thing about this is – it contains info-graphics and is completely free!

Excel Formulas Not Working: Troubleshooting Formulas

Continuing our series on Excel Formulas, this part is all about troubleshooting Excel Formulas. Let’s look at the major issues.

How To Refresh Excel Formulas

If Your Excel Formulas are Not Calculating, then start off by refreshing them. Do either of the following methods to refresh formulas:

• Press F2 and then Enter to refresh the formula of a particular cell.
• Press Shift + F9 to recalculate all formulas in the active sheet or you can go to the Formula Tab > Under Calculation Group > Select “Calculate Sheet”.

• Press F9 to recalculate all formulas in the workbook or you can go to the Formula Tab > Under Calculation Group > Select “Calculate Now”.

• Press Ctrl + Alt + F9 to recalculate formulas in open worksheets of all open workbooks.
• Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F9 to recalculate formulas in all sheets in all open workbooks.

How To Show Formulas In Excel

Usually when you type a formula in Excel and press Enter, Excel displays a calculated value in the cell. If you wish to see the formula that you have typed in the cell, you can do either of the following methods:

• Go to Formula Tab > Under Formula Auditingsection > Click on “Show Formulas”.

• Press Ctrl + ` to show formulas in the cell.

How To Audit Your Formula

Formula Auditing is used in Excel to display the relationship between formulas and cells. There are different ways in which you can do that. Let’s cover each one in detail:

• Trace Precedents

Trace Precedents shows all the cells that affect the formula in the selected cell. When you click this button, Excel draws arrows to the cells that are referred to in the formula inside the selected cell.

In the example below, we have a cost table that contains totals and grand total. We will now use trace precedents to check how the cells are linked to each other.Click on the cell containing grand total (Cell C15) > Go to Formula Tab > Click on “Trace Precedents”.

To see the next level of precedents, click the Trace Precedents command again.

To remove arrows, simply go to Formula Tab > Click on “Remove Arrows”.

• Trace Dependents

Trace Dependents show all the cells that are affected by the formula in the selected cell. When you click this button, Excel draws arrows from the selected cell to the cells that use, or depend on, the results of the formula in the selected cell.

In the example below, we have a cost table that contains totals and grand total. We will now use trace dependents to check how the cells are linked to each other.Click on the cell containing Property Cost (Cell C3) > Go to Formula Tab > Click on “Trace Dependents”.

To see the next level of dependents, click the Trace Dependents command again

• Evaluate Formula

This function is used to evaluate each part of the formula in the current cell. The Evaluate Formula feature can be quite useful in formulas that nest many functions within them and helps in debugging an error.

To evaluate the calculation in cell C15 (Grand Total), Click on the cell > Go to Formula Tab > Click on “Evaluate Formula”.

A dialog box will appear that will enable you to evaluate parts of the formula.

This will help you to debug an error as it provides you with the value calculated at each step of evaluation done by Excel.

• Error Checking

This function is helpful as it is used to understand the nature of an error in a cell and to enable you to trace its precedents.

To check for the errors shown in the screenshot below, click on cell C18 > Click on Formula Tab > Under Formula Auditing group > Click on “Error Checking”.

Once you click on Error Checking button, a dialog box will appear. It will describe the reason for the error and will guide you on what to do next. You can either trace the error or ignore the error or go to the formula bar and edit it. You can choose either of these options by clicking on the button shown in the Error Checking Dialog box.

These top formulas and functions of Excel will surely help and guide you in every step of your Excel Journey.

Spreadsheets aren’t merely for arranging data into rows and columns. Most of the time, you use them for data analysis as well.

Microsoft Excel is one of the most widely used spreadsheet applications, especially in finance and accounting. This is partly because of its easy UI and unmatched depth of functions.

In this article, you will learn:

• What Excel formulas are
• How to write a formula in Excel
• What Excel functions are
• How to work with an Excel function
• Lastly, we’ll take a look at dynamic Excel functions.

What do I need to install on my computer to follow this article?

To follow along, you will need to have Microsoft Excel installed on your computer. We’ll use a Windows computer for this article.

How can I install Microsoft Excel on my computer?

Follow these steps to install Microsoft Excel on your Windows computer:

1. Sign in to www.office.com if you’re not already signed in.
2. Sign in with the account associated with your Microsoft 365 subscription. You can also try out Office for free as well.
3. Once signed in, select “Install Office” from the Office home page. This will automatically download Microsoft Office onto your Windows computer.
4. Run the installer to set up Microsoft Office and select «Close» once you’re done.
5. Once done, select the “Start” button (located at the lower-left corner of your screen) and type “Microsoft Excel.”
6. Click on Microsoft Excel to open it.
7. Accept the license agreement, and let’s get started.

What are Excel Formulas?

An Excel formula is an expression that carries out an operation based on the value of a cell or range of cells. You can use an Excel formula to:

• Perform simple mathematical operations such as addition or subtraction.
• Perform a simple operation like joining categorical data.

It’s important to understand two things: Excel formulas always begin with the equals «=» sign and they can return an error if not properly executed.

What Operators Are Used in Excel Formulas?

There are four different types of operators in Excel—arithmetic, comparison, text concatenation, and reference. But for most formulas, you’ll typically use these three:

Arithmetic operators

+	Addition
—	Subtraction
/	Division
*	Multiplication
^	Exponentiation

Comparison operators

=	Equal to
>	Greater than
<	Less than
>=	Greater than or equal to
<=	Less than or equal to
<>	Not equal to

Text concatenation

Here you have just the ampersand “&” sign for joining text.

How Can I Create an Excel Formula?

Let’s take a simple scenario using one of the arithmetic operators.

In math, to add up two numbers, let’s say 20 and 30, you will calculate this by writing: 20 + 30 =

And this will give you 50.

In Excel, here is how it goes:

1. First, open a blank Excel worksheet.
2. In cell A1, type 20.
3. In cell A2, type 30.
4. To add it up, type in = 20 + 30 in cell A3.

5.  Then, press ENTER on your keyboard. Excel will instantly calculate this and return 50.

I mentioned earlier that every formula begins with the equal «=» sign. That’s what I meant. To write a formula, you type the equal to sign followed by the numeric values. This also applies to cases of subtraction, division, multiplication, and exponentiation.

Let’s take another simple scenario using one of the comparison operators. Assume we want to find out if 30 is greater than 40.

In Excel, here is how we would do it:

1. Type in =30>40
2. Press ENTER.

3.  This will return a FALSE because 30 isn’t greater than 40. Excel uses TRUE and FALSE for logical statements, the same way we human says yes and no.

Lastly, let’s take another simple scenario using the text concatenation operator – the ampersand “&” sign. This works with your string data types and you use it to join text.

Assume we have «Welcome», «To», and «FreeCodeCamp» all in different cells—A1, A2, and A3—of your worksheet. We would type =A1&” “&A2&” “&A3 to join them.

The space in quotes “ “ represents that we want a space between our words.

Another tip: the formula bar shows the formula used to generate a value.

What Are Excel Functions?

Excel functions are predefined inbuilt formulas that perform mathematical, statistical, and logical calculations and operations using your values and arguments.

For Excel functions, you should know that:

• They’re formulas, so yeah, they start with the equal «=» sign as well.
• The order is very important.

There are over 500 functions available. You can find all available Excel functions on the Formulas tab on the Ribbon.

But why use a function when you can just write a formula?

Here are some benefits of Excel functions.

• To improve productivity and effectiveness.
• To simplify complex calculations.
• To automate your work.
• To quickly visualize data.

What Makes Up Excel Functions?

Unlike formulas, Excel functions are made up of a structure with arguments you need to pass.

Every function:

• Starts with the equals «=» sign
• Has a name. Some examples are VLOOKUP, SUM, UNIQUE, and XLOOKUP.
• Requires arguments which are separated by commas. You should know that semicolons are used as separators in countries like Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, and Germany. You can, however, change this via the Excel setting.
• Argument with the square brackets [] are optional
• Has an opening and closing parenthesis.
• Has an argument tooltip which shows you what you should pass.

There are some exceptions. For example,

• The DATEDIF doesn’t show in Excel because it is not a standard function and gives incorrect results in a few circumstances. However, here is the syntax:

DATEDIF(birthdate, TODAY(), "y")

• Functions like PI(), RAND(), NOW(), TODAY() require no argument.

Let’s look at a few functions:

How to Use the SUM() Function in Excel

According to the documentation, the SUM function adds values. Here is the syntax:

Let’s assume that we have a line of numbers from 1 to 10 and we want to add it up. To achieve this, we will just type =SUM(A1:A10). The A1:A10 simply returns an array of number that are situated on cell A1 to A10 which are A1, A2, and A3 up through A10.

Since the second argument is optional, that means a sum(A10) will return a value. In our case, it will return just 10 since A10 has the value 10 in it. Give it a try.

If you were writing this using the addition operator, you would have written:

=1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10

or

=A1 + A2 + A3 + A4 + A5 + A6 + A7 + A8 + A9 + A10

This doesn’t look very productive or efficient.

How to Use the TODAY() Function in Excel

According to the documentation, the TODAY function displays the current date on your worksheet. It also requires no argument. Here is the syntax:

Excel displays the current date automatically according to your computer’s date and time setting. The same goes for the NOW() function, which displays the current date and time.

How to Use the CONCATENATE() Function in Excel

Let’s look at a text function. You use CONCATENATE to join two or more text strings into one string together.

Here is the syntax:

Let’s assume we want to join “This is” with “freeCodeCamp” – but in your cell, you have just «freeCodeCamp.»

If you’re going to write a string inside a formula, you must write it inside quotes like this “ “.

Why?

This way, Excel wouldnt think you’re trying to write another function.

This will return the phrase “This is freeCodeCamp”

How to Use the VLOOKUP() Function in Excel

This is one of Excel’s most interesting and commonly used formulas or functions. You use it to find a value in a table or range by row.

Here is a scenario:

We have a simple table that shows various films along with their genre, lead studio, audience score %, profitability, rotten tomatoes %, worldwide gross and year. I would use just the first 10 rows of the sample data from this GitHub Gist.

I want that, whenever I type in a movie in the yellow cell, the year should get displayed in the green cell. Let’s use VLOOKUP to find it.

This is the VLOOKUP syntax:

Besides writing your formulas in the cell, you can also write them using the Excel Insert Function (fx) button, which is close to the formula bar.

Let’s try this.

1. Write =Vlookup( on the green cell.
2. Click on fx. A dialogue box will pop up showing all the arguments this formula needs.
3. Input the value for each argument.
4. Lookup_value (required argument): This is what you want to find. In our case, that is the movie “Youth in Revolt” which is in cell B1.
5. Table_array (required argument): This is just asking you for the table that contains the data. You give it the entire table, which in our case is A4:H13
6. Col_index_num (required argument): This is asking you for the column number of the table you gave. In our case, we want the year. This is in column 8.
7. Range_lookup (optional argument): Lastly, we pick if we want an approximate match (TRUE) or an exact match (FALSE).

— TRUE means approximate match, so it returns the closest or an estimate.

—  FALSE means exact match, so it returns an error if it’s not found.

8. We would go for the FALSE because we want the exact match.

9. Click on «OK.» Excel will return 2010.

However, you can write this in the cell by typing in =VLOOKUP(B1,A4:H13,8,FALSE) in your cell.

Tips and Rules When Writing Excel Functions

When writing our function, Excel provides some formula tips.

1. The Argument tooltip doesn’t leave until you close the last parenthesis.
2. The formula bar shows your formula.
3. The argument you are currently writing is always dark. Take a look at the lookup_value in the image below.
4. The square brackets [] tell you it is optional.
5. Lastly, the colour code – our B1 is in blue, and cell B1 is in blue to guide us on what cell or table was picked. The same thing will happen to A4:H13 when we pick it as our table_array argument.

How to Work with Nested Functions in Excel

A nested function is when you write a function within another function. For example, finding the average of the sum of values.

The first tip when writing a nested function will be to treat every function individually. So address the first function before addressing the second. A pro tip would be to look at the argument tooltip when writing it.

Let’s take a simple scenario.

We have two arrays of numbers. Each has the scores of students in the class. I want to add the two arrays before I get the average.

Let’s get started.

1. Type in your = followed by the average.
2. The number one will be the sum of the scores from class one.
3. The number two will be the sum of the scores from class two.

Finally, don’t forget the closing parenthesis.

Thus, the formula will be =AVERAGE(SUM(B3:B8),SUM(D3:D8)).

How to Work with Dynamic Array Functions in Excel

Dynamic array functions are formulas associated with spill array behaviour.

Before now, you wrote a function and it returned just a single input. We call these kinds of functions legacy array formulas.

Dynamic array functions, on the other hand, will return values that will enter the neighbouring cells. A few examples of dynamic array functions are:

• UNIQUE
• TEXTSPLIT
• FILTER
• SEQUENCE
• SORT
• SORTBY
• RANDARRAY

Let’s look at the UNIQUE formula.

How to Use the UNIQUE() Formula in Excel

The unique formula works by returning the unique value from an array or list. Let’s use the movie sample data from this GitHub Gist. This table contains 77 rows of film excluding the heading.

Let’s try to get the unique years from our dataset – that is, years without duplicates.

To do this:

1. Type =UNIQUE(
2. Select the entire array of values from the year column: =UNIQUE(H2:H78)

3. Close the parenthesis and press Enter.

Though the formula was written in a single cell, the returned value got spilled into the cells below it. That’s the spilled array behaviour.

How to Create Your Own Functions in Excel

Microsoft Excel released a bunch of new functions to make user more productive. One of these function was the LAMBDA function.

The LAMBDA function lets you create custom functions without macros, VBA or JavaScript, and reuse them throughout a workbook.

The best part? you can name it.

How to Use the LAMBDA() Function in Excel

This LAMBDA function will increase productivity by eliminating the need to copy and paste this formula, which can be error-prone.

Here is the LAMBDA syntax:

Lets start with a simple use case using the movie sample data from this GitHub Gist.

We had a column called «Worldwide Gross», lets try to find the Naira value.

1. Create a new column and call it «Worldwide Gross in Naira».
2. Right below our column name, Cell I2, type =lAMBDA(
3. LAMBDA requires a parameter and/or a calculation.

The parameter means the value you want to pass, in our use case we want to change the gross value. Lets call it gross.

The calculation means the formula or function you want to execute. For us, that will be to multiply it with te exchange rate. At the moment, that’s 670. so lets write gross * 670.

4. Press Enter. This will return an error because, gross doesnt exist and you need to let excel know of these names.

5. To make use of the newly created function, you need to copy the syntax written.

6. Go to the formula ribbon and open the name manager.

7. Define the name manger parameters:

• The name is simply what you want to call this function. I am going with NairaConvert.
• The scope should be workbook because you want to use this function in the workbook.
• The comments explains what your function does. It is acts as a documentation.
• In the refer to, you should paste the copied function syntax.

8. Press Ok.

9. To use this new function, you call it with the name you defined it as—NairaConvert—and give it the gross which is our worldwise gross on G2.

10. Close the parenthesis and press Ok

Where Can I Learn More about Excel?

There are a ton of resources for learning Microsoft Excel nowadays. So many that it is hard to figure out which ones are up-to-date and helpful.

The best thing you can do is find a helpful tutorial and follow it to completion, instead of attempting to take several at once. I would advise you to start with freeCodeCamp’s Microsoft Excel Tutorial for Beginners — Full Course, which is available on YouTube.

You should also join communities like the Microsoft Excel and Data Analysis Learning Community. However, if you’re looking for a compilation of resources, check out freeCodeCamp’s publication Excel tags.

If you enjoyed reading this article and/or have any questions and want to connect, you can find me on LinkedIn or Twitter.

---

---

Learn to code for free. freeCodeCamp’s open source curriculum has helped more than 40,000 people get jobs as developers. Get started