Formulas help you extract useful information from your data. Add cell references and functions to calculate values that update automatically when you change your data.
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What's new in Excel 2013
Basic tasks in Excel
I have added an Over/under budget column to the worksheet to help us track our budget as the actual costs begin to come in.
But to make that column work, we need to add a formula.
In case you had not noticed, Excel has already added some formulas for us, down here, in the Total row.
Tables can be very useful when it comes to formulas.
But to really understand how they work, let's try creating one on our own.
Select the first cell in the column. To let Excel know we are entering a formula, type an = sign.
Now, there are number of ways to write a formula.
We could type the values in each column with a - sign between them, and get the correct result.
But then what would happen if one of the numbers changed? We would have to rewrite the formula.
To solve that problem, we can use cell references.
Instead of typing the value of each cell, we simply type the cell addresses.
To help you keep track of cell references in the formula, Excel puts a colored highlight on the cell.
Press Enter and Excel calculates the formula and displays the result in the cell.
Now because we used cell references, we can change a value and Excel automatically updates the Total.
Keep in mind that even though the cell shows the result, the real content of the cell is still the formula.
If you wonder if a cell contains a formula, click the cell and look in the Formula Bar.
Also, we can use AutoFill.
Just click this little green handle in the cell and drag it down, and Excel automatically fills the formula to the other cells.
It even updates the cell references to point to the right cells.
Note that negative values are displayed in parentheses.
But for an even easier way to enter formulas, we can use functions.
A function does all the formula writing for you. As you saw earlier, you can add a function to the Total row by simply clicking this arrow.
If you select Sum, Excel adds the SUBTOTAL function.
But you can add a function to any cell you want. Select a cell. Then, go to the FORMULAS tab on the ribbon. Here, you have a whole library of functions.
Click AutoSum, click Sum, and the function is added to the cell.
Now, select the cells you want to add and press Enter.
Click More Functions to see all the functions available in Excel.
Up next, we'll do more with formulas and functions.
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When you create a simple formula or a formula by that uses a function, you can refer to data in worksheet cells by including cell references in the formula arguments. For example, when you enter or select the cell reference A2, the formula uses the value of that cell to calculate the result. You can also reference a range of cells.
For more information about cell references, see Create or change a cell reference. For more information about formulas in general, see Overview of formulas.
Click the cell in which you want to enter the formula.
In the formula bar
, type = (equal sign).Do one of the following, select the cell that contains the value you want or type its cell reference.
You can refer to a single cell, a range of cells, a location in another worksheet, or a location in another workbook.
When selecting a range of cells, you can drag the border of the cell selection to move the selection, or drag the corner of the border to expand the selection.
1. The first cell reference is B3, the color is blue, and the cell range has a blue border with square corners.
2. The second cell reference is C3, the color is green, and the cell range has a green border with square corners.
Note: If there is no square corner on a color-coded border, the reference is to a named range.
Press Enter.
Example
Copy the example data in the following table, and paste it in cell A1 of a new Excel worksheet. For formulas to show results, select them, press F2, and then press Enter. If you need to, you can adjust the column widths to see all the data. Use the Define Name command (Formulas tab, Defined Names group) to define "Assets" (B2:B4) and "Liabilities" (C2:C4).
Department | Assets | Liabilities |
IT | 274000 | 71000 |
Admin | 67000 | 18000 |
HR | 44000 | 3000 |
Formula | Description | Result |
'=SUM(Assets) | Returns the total of the assets for the three departments in defined name "Assets," which is defined as the cell range B2:B4. (385000) | =SUM(Assets) |
'=SUM(Assets)-SUM(Liabilities) | Subtracts the sum of the defined name "Liabilities" from the sum of the defined name "Assets." (293000) | =SUM(Assets)-SUM(Liabilities) |
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