Microsoft Office

Introducing Formulas and
Functions
Formulas are what make a spreadsheet program so useful. If it weren’t for
formulas, a spreadsheet would simply be a glorified word-processing document
that has great support for tabular information. You use formulas in
your Excel worksheets to calculate results from the data stored in the worksheet.
When data changes, those formulas calculate updated results with no extra effort
on your part. This chapter introduces formulas and functions and helps you get
up to speed with this important element.
Understanding Formula Basics
A formula is entered into a cell. It performs a calculation of some type and
returns a result, which is displayed in the cell. Formulas use a variety of operators
and worksheet functions to work with values and text. The values and text
used in formulas can be located in other cells, which makes changing data easy
and gives worksheets their dynamic nature. For example, you can see multiple
scenarios quickly by changing the data in a worksheet and letting your formulas
do the work.
IN THIS CHAPTER
Understanding formula basics
Entering formulas and functions
into your worksheets
Understanding how to use
references in formulas
Correcting common formula
errors
Using advanced naming
techniques
Tips for working with formulas
A formula can consist of any of these elements:
n
n
n
n
Mathematical operators, such as + (for addition) and
* (for multiplication)
Cell references (including named cells and ranges)
Values or text
Worksheet functions (such as SUM or AVERAGE)
When you’re working with a table, a new feature in Excel 2007
NEW FEATURE
enables you to create formulas that use column names from
the table — which can make your formulas much easier to read. I discuss table
formulas later in this chapter. (See “Using Formulas In Tables.”)
175