What do these mean in excel

This tutorial explains what different symbols mean in formulas in Excel and Google Sheets.

Excel is essentially used for keeping track of data and using calculations to manipulate this data. All calculations in Excel are done by means of formulas, and all formulas are made up of different symbols or operators, depending on what function the formula is performing.

Equal Sign (=)

The most commonly used symbol in Excel is the equal (=) sign. Every single formula or function used has to start with equals to let Excel know that a formula is being used. If you wish to reference a cell in a formula, it has to have an equal sign before the cell address. Otherwise, Excel just shows the cell address as standard text.

In the above example, if you type (1) =B2 in cell D2, it returns a value of (2) 10. However, typing only (3) B3 into cell D3 just shows “B3” in the cell, and there is no reference to the value 20.

Standard Operators

The next most common symbols in Excel are the standard operators as used on a calculator: plus (+), minus (–), multiply (*) and divide (/). Note that the multiplication sign is not the standard multiplication sign (x) but is depicted by an asterisk (*) while the division sign is not the standard division sign (÷) but is depicted by the forward slash (/).

An example of a formula using addition and multiplication is shown below:

=B1+B2*B3

Order of Operations and Adding Parentheses

In the formula shown above, B2*B3 is calculated first, as in standard mathematics. The order of operations is always multiplication before addition. However, you can adjust the order of operations by adding parentheses (round brackets) to the formula; any calculations between these parentheses would then be done first before the multiplication. Parentheses, therefore, are another example of symbols used in Excel.

=(B1+B2)*B3

In the example shown above, the first formula returns a value of 610 while the second formula (using parentheses) returns 900.

Parentheses are also used with all Excel functions. For example, to sum B3, B4, and B5 together, you can use the SUM Function where the range B3:B5 is contained within parentheses.

=SUM(B3:B5)

Colon (:) to Specify a Range of Cells

In the formula used above, the parentheses contain the cell range which the SUM Function needs to add together. This cell range is expressed with a colon (:) where the first cell reference (B3) is the cell address of the first cell included in the range of cells to add together, while the second cell reference (B5) is the cell address of the last cell included in the range.

Dollar Symbol ($) in an Absolute Reference

A particular useful and common symbol used in Excel is the dollar sign within a formula. Note that this does not indicate currency; rather, it’s used to “fix” a cell address in place in order that a single cell can be used repetitively in multiple formulas by copying formulas between cells.

=C6*$C$3

By adding a dollar sign ($) in front of the column header (C) and the row header (3), when copying the formula down to Rows 7–15 in the example below, the first part of the formula (e.g., C6) changes according to the row it is copied down to while the second part of the formula ($C$3) stays static always enabling the formula to refer to the value stored in cell C3.

See: Cell References and Absolute Cell Reference Shortcut for more information on absolute references.

Exclamation Point (!) to Indicate a Sheet Name

The exclamation point (!) is critical if you want to create a formula in a sheet and include a reference to a different sheet.

=SUM(Sheet1!B2:B4)

Square Brackets [ ] to Refer to External Workbooks

Excel uses square brackets to show references to linked workbooks. The name of the external workbook is enclosed in square brackets, while the sheet name in that workbook appears after the brackets with an exclamation point at the end.

Comma (,)

The comma has two uses in Excel.

Refer to Multiple Ranges

If you wish to use multiple ranges in a function (e.g., the SUM Function), you can use a comma to separate the ranges.

=SUM(B2:B3, B6:B10)

Separate Arguments in a Function

Alternatively, some built in Excel functions have multiple arguments which are usually separated with commas. (These can also be semicolons, depending on the function syntax.)

=VLOOKUP(H5, B6:E15, 4, FALSE)

Curly Brackets { } in Array Formulas

Curly brackets are used in array formulas. An array formula is created by pressing the CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER keys together when entering a formula.

Other Important Symbols

Symbol	Description	Example
%	Percentage	=B2%
^	Exponential operator	=B2^B3
&	Concatenation	=B2&B3
>	Greater than	=B2>B3
<	Less than	=B2<B3
>=	Greater than or equal to	=B2>=B3
<=	Less than or equal to	=B2<=B3
<>	Not equal to	=B2<>B3

Symbols in Formulas in Google Sheets

The symbols used in Google Sheets are identical to those used in Excel.

Excel Symbols – do you know what they mean? Take a look at the list below!

This week’s blog is all about Excel symbols. They can be quite simple but if you don’t know what they mean it can be daunting or even frustrating! Some are a lot more obvious than others.

Excel is often used by a lot of people as a way of data entry and so people often do not have to use or understand what these symbols mean as they are already built into the spreadsheets that they use.

But have you ever been in a situation where you have clicked into a cell, exposed the formula and panicked at what you saw? All those symbols jumbled together and not knowing what they mean?

Don’t worry, it happens to us all! So because of this, we decided to put a table into our Basic course as a bit of a ‘Glossary’ to help when you start off learning about Excel! You can also find out a bit more about error messages in Excel by looking below at the list!

Excel Symbols List

Some of you would have been on our Basic Excel course and seen this list in your course notes you took away with you, however some of you wouldn’t have seen it.

So we thought we would share this list with you all that we put together of some of the common used basic symbols in Excel.

=     This is an equal sign and is used at the beginning of a formula

+     This is an addition sign and is used in sums and formulas

–      This is a subtraction sign and is used in sums and formulas

/      This is a division sign and is used in sums and formulas

*      This is a multiplication sign and is used in sums and formulas

( )   These are rounded brackets and are used to group together smaller sums in more complex formulas

:      This is a semi colon and is used in a formula to create a range of cells (e.g. A2:B4)

,      This is a comma and is used for separating cell references in formulas (often for non-adjacent cells)

$     This is a dollar sign and is used when creating absolute references

%    This is a percentage sign and is used when dealing with figures in percentages

[ ]   These are square brackets and are used for identifying a workbook which is being linked into a formula

!      This is an exclamation mark and is used for identifying a worksheet which is being linked into a formula

We hope you find this list useful! Let us know what you think!

These are all used in calculations and formulas in Excel and they are covered in more detail on our Basic and Intermediate Excel 1 day courses.

Fed up of seeing error messages in your spreadsheets and not knowing what they mean?

Click here to find out more in our post on what different error messages in Excel mean.

If you want to have a look at what else is covered in our Excel courses, you can take a look at our agendas on our website here, also take a look at our customer comments section and see what others have thought when they have come on one of our courses!

What Do the Symbols (&,$,<, etc.) Mean in Formulas? – Excel & Google Sheets

This tutorial explains what different symbols mean in formulas in Excel and Google Sheets.

Excel is essentially used for keeping track of data and using calculations to manipulate this data. All calculations in Excel are done by means of formulas, and all formulas are made up of different symbols or operators, depending on what function the formula is performing.

Equal Sign (=)

The most commonly used symbol in Excel is the equal (=) sign. Every single formula or function used has to start with equals to let Excel know that a formula is being used. If you wish to reference a cell in a formula, it has to have an equal sign before the cell address. Otherwise, Excel just shows the cell address as standard text.

In the above example, if you type (1) =B2 in cell D2, it returns a value of (2) 10. However, typing only (3) B3 into cell D3 just shows “B3” in the cell, and there is no reference to the value 20.

Standard Operators

The next most common symbols in Excel are the standard operators as used on a calculator: plus (+), minus (–), multiply (*) and divide (/). Note that the multiplication sign is not the standard multiplication sign (x) but is depicted by an asterisk (*) while the division sign is not the standard division sign (÷) but is depicted by the forward slash (/).

An example of a formula using addition and multiplication is shown below:

Order of Operations and Adding Parentheses

In the formula shown above, B2*B3 is calculated first, as in standard mathematics. The order of operations is always multiplication before addition. However, you can adjust the order of operations by adding parentheses (round brackets) to the formula; any calculations between these parentheses would then be done first before the multiplication. Parentheses, therefore, are another example of symbols used in Excel.

In the example shown above, the first formula returns a value of 610 while the second formula (using parentheses) returns 900.

Parentheses are also used with all Excel functions. For example, to sum B3, B4, and B5 together, you can use the SUM Function where the range B3:B5 is contained within parentheses.

Colon (:) to Specify a Range of Cells

In the formula used above, the parentheses contain the cell range which the SUM Function needs to add together. This cell range is expressed with a colon (:) where the first cell reference (B3) is the cell address of the first cell included in the range of cells to add together, while the second cell reference (B5) is the cell address of the last cell included in the range.

Dollar Symbol ($) in an Absolute Reference

A particular useful and common symbol used in Excel is the dollar sign within a formula. Note that this does not indicate currency; rather, it’s used to “fix” a cell address in place in order that a single cell can be used repetitively in multiple formulas by copying formulas between cells.

By adding a dollar sign ($) in front of the column header (C) and the row header (3), when copying the formula down to Rows 7–15 in the example below, the first part of the formula (e.g., C6) changes according to the row it is copied down to while the second part of the formula ($C$3) stays static always enabling the formula to refer to the value stored in cell C3.

See: Cell References and Absolute Cell Reference Shortcut for more information on absolute references.

Exclamation Point (!) to Indicate a Sheet Name

The exclamation point (!) is critical if you want to create a formula in a sheet and include a reference to a different sheet.

Square Brackets [ ] to Refer to External Workbooks

Excel uses square brackets to show references to linked workbooks. The name of the external workbook is enclosed in square brackets, while the sheet name in that workbook appears after the brackets with an exclamation point at the end.

Comma (,)

The comma has two uses in Excel.

Refer to Multiple Ranges

If you wish to use multiple ranges in a function (e.g., the SUM Function), you can use a comma to separate the ranges.

Separate Arguments in a Function

Alternatively, some built in Excel functions have multiple arguments which are usually separated with commas. (These can also be semicolons, depending on the function syntax.)

Curly Brackets in Array Formulas

Curly brackets are used in array formulas. An array formula is created by pressing the CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER keys together when entering a formula.

Other Important Symbols

Symbol	Description	Example
%	Percentage	=B2%
^	Exponential operator	=B2^B3
&	Concatenation	=B2&B3
>	Greater than	=B2>B3
=	Greater than or equal to	=B2>=B3
Not equal to	=B2<>B3

Symbols in Formulas in Google Sheets

The symbols used in Google Sheets are identical to those used in Excel.

Источник

Excel Symbols – what do they mean and how do I use them?

Excel Symbols – do you know what they mean? Take a look at the list below!

This week’s blog is all about Excel symbols. They can be quite simple but if you don’t know what they mean it can be daunting or even frustrating! Some are a lot more obvious than others.

Excel is often used by a lot of people as a way of data entry and so people often do not have to use or understand what these symbols mean as they are already built into the spreadsheets that they use.

But have you ever been in a situation where you have clicked into a cell, exposed the formula and panicked at what you saw? All those symbols jumbled together and not knowing what they mean?

Don’t worry, it happens to us all! So because of this, we decided to put a table into our Basic course as a bit of a ‘Glossary’ to help when you start off learning about Excel! You can also find out a bit more about error messages in Excel by looking below at the list!

Excel Symbols List

Some of you would have been on our Basic Excel course and seen this list in your course notes you took away with you, however some of you wouldn’t have seen it.

So we thought we would share this list with you all that we put together of some of the common used basic symbols in Excel.

= This is an equal sign and is used at the beginning of a formula

+ This is an addition sign and is used in sums and formulas

– This is a subtraction sign and is used in sums and formulas

/ This is a division sign and is used in sums and formulas

* This is a multiplication sign and is used in sums and formulas

( ) These are rounded brackets and are used to group together smaller sums in more complex formulas

: This is a semi colon and is used in a formula to create a range of cells (e.g. A2:B4)

, This is a comma and is used for separating cell references in formulas (often for non-adjacent cells)

$ This is a dollar sign and is used when creating absolute references

% This is a percentage sign and is used when dealing with figures in percentages

[ ] These are square brackets and are used for identifying a workbook which is being linked into a formula

! This is an exclamation mark and is used for identifying a worksheet which is being linked into a formula

We hope you find this list useful! Let us know what you think!

These are all used in calculations and formulas in Excel and they are covered in more detail on our Basic and Intermediate Excel 1 day courses.

Fed up of seeing error messages in your spreadsheets and not knowing what they mean?

Click here to find out more in our post on what different error messages in Excel mean.

If you want to have a look at what else is covered in our Excel courses, you can take a look at our agendas on our website here, also take a look at our customer comments section and see what others have thought when they have come on one of our courses!

Источник

What Does $ (Dollar Symbol) Mean in Excel and How to Use It

Got confused when you see $ symbols in an excel formula? Don’t know what they mean? This tutorial will answer what does $ mean in excel and how to use this symbol for you!

When we write a formula in excel, we often need to copy it to other cells. This is so we don’t have to waste time writing similar formulas again.

The $ symbol mainly helps us with this copy process so we get correct formula writings. Curious? Learn much more of the details below!

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links from which we earn commission from qualifying purchases/actions at no additional cost for you. Learn more

Want to work faster and easier in Excel? Install and use Excel add-ins! Read this article to know the best Excel add-ins to use according to us!

$ (Dollar Symbol) Meaning in Excel and Its Function

The $ symbol in excel, more specifically in excel formulas, means that the row number/column letter on its right is absolute.

What does absolute mean? It means that the row number/column letter won’t move when we copy the formula to other cells!

You see, when we copy a formula in excel, the row and column in its cell references normally moves too. The movement depends on the direction where we copy the formula from the source.

For example, take a look at the numbers and the manual sum formula in the screenshot below.

If we copy the sum formula to cell G4, then the result becomes like this.

Why does the result become 11 not 3? That is because the cell references in the formula we copy also moves along with the copy direction.

As we copy the formula to one cell below and one cell right, its cell references also move in that direction. B3 becomes C4 (one cell below and one cell right from B3) and C3 becomes D4 (one cell below and one cell right from C3). This makes the sum formula sums 5 and 6 instead of 1 and 2, which produces 11.

Now, what if we add a $ symbol in front of the B3 column letter before we copy the formula? That means the B3 writing in the formula becomes $B3 like this.

What will happen if we copy the formula to cell G4 like before? The thing that will happen is this.

Why the result now becomes 10 not 11? The reason is because we put a $ symbol in front of B in B3.

As discussed before, the $ symbol makes the row number/column letter on its right absolute. That means when we copy the formula with the $ symbol, the row/column won’t move.

In the example, the $ makes the B in B3 absolute. That makes the B letter won’t move when we copy the sum formula.

The formula result from the copy process is =$B4+D4. Only the row number in the $B3 moves and the column stays the same!

A similar thing will happen if we copy the formula with the $ symbol in front of the row number of B3. The row won’t move when we copy the formula because of that.

What if we put the $ symbol in front of both the row number and column letter of B3? That will make the cell reference won’t move both in its row and column when we copy the sum formula!

To summarize, here is a table that explains what a $ symbol does in an excel formula.

$ Position	Meaning	Formula Writing Example
In front of the column letter	The column is an absolute reference (it won’t move wherever we copy the formula that contains the column reference)	=$A1
In front of the row number	The row is an absolute reference (it won’t move wherever we copy the formula that contains the row reference)	=A$1
In front of the row number and column letter	The column and row (the whole cell) are absolute references (they won’t move wherever we copy the formula that contains the cell coordinate reference)	=$A$1

Now, have you understood the meaning of the $ symbol in an excel formula? In short, it will make the row/column on its right won’t move when we copy the formula that contains it.

How to Add a $ Symbol in an Excel Formula 1: Direct Typing

As we have discussed the $ meaning in excel, now let’s talk about how to add it to your formula.

There are generally two methods to add $ symbols in excel, direct typing and using the F4 button. The following are the steps to add the $ symbol by typing it directly in your formula.

Double click the cell where the formula you want to add the $ symbol is. Alternatively, highlight the formula cell and click on the formula bar

Type the $ symbols on the left of the row numbers/column letters you want to make absolute

Press Enter

Done!

How to Add a $ Symbol in an Excel Formula 2: The F4 Button (Command + T in Mac)

Another method to add $ symbols in your excel formula is by using the F4 button (Command + T in Mac). Here are the detailed steps to use the button for the purpose.

Double click on the cell where the formula you want to add the $ symbol is. Alternatively, you can also highlight the formula cell and click on the formula bar

Place your typing cursor in the cell reference where you want to add the $ symbol by clicking it

Press the F4 (Command + T in Mac) button on your keyboard. Press it a few times if needed until the $ symbols are in the places you want in the cell

If you have other cell references you want to add the $ symbol, then repeat step 2-3 for them

Press Enter

Done!

Exercise

After you learn about the $ meaning in excel and how to use it, you can do this exercise below. Doing it should help you understand how to use $ symbols in your excel formula.

Download the exercise file below and do the instructions. Download the answer key file if you have done the exercise and want to check your answer. Or probably when you are confused about how to do some of the instructions!

Link to the exercise file:
Download here

Instructions

Do each instruction in the appropriate sheet according to the instruction number (1=Sheet1, 2=Sheet2, 3=Sheet3)! Use $ symbols to help you answer them much faster!

• Find out whether Mina, Klaus, and Lucia pass or fail on each of their subjects!
• Find out whether James, Patrick, and Nicole pass or fail on each of their subjects!
• Find the June, October, and March sales quantities from the table on the left using VLOOKUP!

Link to the answer key file:
Download here

Additional Note

If you want to add $ symbols in a cell range using F4, then do this. Highlight the cell range before you begin to press the button. You will automatically add $ symbols in both cells that represent the cell range!

Related tutorials you should learn:

Источник

Here are the important symbols used in Excel Formulas. Each of these special characters have used for different purpose in Excel. Let us see complete list of symbols used in Excel Formulas, its meaning and uses.

Symbols used in Excel Formula

Following symbols are used in Excel Formula. They will perform different actions in Excel Formulas and Functions.

Symbol	Name	Description
=	Equal to	Every Excel Formula begins with Equal to symbol (=). Example:=A1+A5
()	Parentheses	All Arguments of the Excel Functions specified between the Parentheses. Example:=COUNTIF(A1:A5,5)
()	Parentheses	Expressions specified in the Parentheses will be evaluated first. Parentheses changes the order of the evaluation in Excel Formula. Example: =25+(35*2)+5
*	Asterisk	Wild card operator to to denote all values in a List. Example: =COUNTIF(A1:A5,”*“)
,	Comma	List of the Arguments of a Function Separated by Comma in Excel Formula. Example: =COUNTIF(A1:A5,“>” &B1)
&	Ampersand	Concatenate Operator to connect two strings into one in Excel Formula. Example: =”Total: “&SUM(B2:B25)
$	Dollar	Makes Cell Reference as Absolute in Excel Formula. Example:=SUM($B$2:$B$25)
!	Exclamation	Sheet Names and Table Names Followed by ! Symbol in Excel Formula. Example: =SUM(Sheet2!B2:B25)
[]	Square Brackets	Uses to refer the Field Name of the Table (List Object) in Excel Formula. Example:=SUM(Table1[Column1])
{}	Curly Brackets	Denote the Array formula in Excel. Example: {=MAX(A1:A5-G1:G5)}
:	Colon	Creates references to all cells between two references. Example: =SUM(B2:B25)
,	Comma	Union Operator will combine the multiple references into One. Example: =SUM(A2:A25, B2:B25)
(space)	Space	Intersection Operator will create common reference of two references. Example: =SUM(A2:A10 A5:A25)

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6 Comments

1. Redjen
   May 31, 2022 at 12:37 pm — Reply

   what is the symbol of average in excel?

   • PNRao
     June 20, 2022 at 12:40 pm — Reply

     You can use AVERAGE()Function to calculate Average in Excel. If you wants to show the Average Statistical Symbol (x-bar), You can insert from symbols. F7C2 is the Unicode Hexa character for X-bar symbol. Make sure that you have set the Symbol Font :MS Reference Sans Serif.
2. Tom Pearce
   September 22, 2022 at 3:54 pm — Reply

   I have a workbook, where the original author used an @ sign in front of a function call in a formula. I can find no reference as to what the @ does, or how it is used. Any one know??

   VBA Example: ActiveSheet.Range(“L2”).Formula = “=@CATEGORY($E2,LFC_AreaLU)”
   Note: Category is a User Defined Function in the workbook.

   • PNRao
     December 5, 2022 at 11:30 am — Reply
3. Jane Girard
   February 9, 2023 at 8:53 pm — Reply

   I have this formula, do you know what the al means in the formula ?
   IF(E4=””,””,VLOOKUP(C4,al,5,0)*E4), can

   • PNRao
     February 27, 2023 at 3:10 am — Reply

     It could be a defined Name or a name of the Table (List Object)

{} in Excel formula — what do these mean? {} in Excel formula — what do these mean? (OP) 20 Sep 06 18:08 I hope this is an easy one for someone to answer — I’ve searched everywhere and can’t find any explanation. What do {} parentheses mean when they are at the beginning and end of a formula in a cell in an excel worksheet?  Here’s an example of what I mean: CODE {=SUM(IF($A$2:$A$168=»h»,IF($C$2:$C$168=»»,1,0)))} gives a different result than: CODE =SUM(IF($A$2:$A$168=»h»,IF($C$2:$C$168=»»,1,0))) I’d appreciate any help you can give me… Thanks Miranda Red Flag Submitted Thank you for helping keep Tek-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts. The Tek-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

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