Skip to main content. Top 10 reasons to learn Excel formulas If you've ever wondered whether learning Excel formulas is worth your time, this list is for you! Resources: Function guide formula examples time-saving tips. Related courses. Core Formula. Email HP. Just wanted to say thanks! Your explanations are very concise and thoughtful. I just searched for conditional formatting based on values on a list.
Email and file sharing are wonderful tools in today's workplace. That is, until one of your colleagues sends you a worksheet with some really funky spacing. Not only can those rogue spaces make it difficult to search for data, but they also affect the results when you try to add up columns of numbers. Rather than painstakingly removing and adding spaces as needed, you can clean up any irregular spacing using the TRIM function, which is used to remove extra spaces from data except for single spaces between words.
Here's an example of how we used the TRIM function to remove extra spaces before a list of names. Below are some other Excel formulas you might find useful as your data management needs grow.
Let's say you have a line of text within a cell that you want to break down into a few different segments. That allowed us to extract the first 4 characters of the code. That allowed us to extract the two numbers starting in the fifth position of the code. That allowed us to extract the last two numbers of the code.
This one is an oldie, but a goodie -- and it's a bit more in depth than some of the other formulas we've listed here. But it's especially helpful for those times when you have two sets of data on two different spreadsheets, and want to combine them into a single spreadsheet.
My colleague, Rachel Sprung -- whose " How to Use Excel " tutorial is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn -- uses a list of names, email addresses, and companies as an example. If you have a list of people's names next to their email addresses in one spreadsheet, and a list of those same people's email addresses next to their company names in the other, but you want the names, email addresses, and company names of those people to appear in one place -- that's where VLOOKUP comes in.
Note: When using this formula, you must be certain that at least one column appears identically in both spreadsheets. Scour your data sets to make sure the column of data you're using to combine your information is exactly the same, including no extra spaces. In this example, Sheet 1 and Sheet 2 contain lists describing different information about the same people, and the common thread between the two is their email addresses.
Let's say we want to combine both datasets so that all the house information from Sheet 2 translates over to Sheet 1. Here's how that would work:. The entire deck is a column, and each card -- 52 in a deck -- is a row. In marketing, you might use this feature when you want to assign a random number to a list of contacts -- like if you wanted to experiment with a new email campaign and had to use blind criteria to select who would receive it.
Helpful stuff, right? Now for the icing on the cake: Once you've mastered the Excel formula you need, you'll want to replicate it for other cells without rewriting the formula. And luckily, there's an Excel function for that, too. Check it out below. To insert a formula in Excel for an entire column of your spreadsheet, enter the formula into the topmost cell of your desired column and press "Enter.
Sometimes, you might want to run the same formula across an entire row or column of your spreadsheet. Let's say, for example, you have a list of numbers in columns A and B of a spreadsheet and want to enter individual totals of each row into column C.
Obviously, it would be too tedious to adjust the values of the formula for each cell so you're finding the total of each row's respective numbers. Luckily, Excel allows you to automatically compete the column; all you have to do is enter the formula in the first row. Check out the following steps:. Perhaps you're crunched for time. I mean, who isn't? No time, no problem. You can select your entire spreadsheet in just one click. All you have to do is simply click the tab in the top-left corner of your sheet to highlight everything all at once.
Just want to select everything in a particular column of row? That's just as easy with these shortcuts:. This shortcut is especially helpful when you're working with larger data sets, but only need to select a specific piece of it. Need to open, close, or create a workbook on the fly?
The following keyboard shortcuts will enable you to complete any of the above actions in less than a minute's time. Have raw data that you want to turn into currency? Whether it be salary figures, marketing budgets, or ticket sales for an event, the solution is simple. The numbers will automatically translate into dollar amounts -- complete with dollar signs, commas, and decimal points. Note: This shortcut also works with percentages. Whether you're logging social media posts , or keeping track of tasks you're checking off your to-do list, you might want to add a date and time stamp to your worksheet.
If you leave formula data in the spreadsheet, it will be easier for the next person to understand the process and come to the same conclusion as you. It will also be easier for your supervisor to test the logic behind your calculations before giving it to the boss upstairs.
If you need to make a change, you will be able to make it faster and more reliably. There is a risk of information changing after you attain an answer you like or if someone else makes changes to the spreadsheet. There are three common methods for preventing changes to a spreadsheet. One solution is to save the spreadsheet as a PDF. Another solution is to create a backup of the spreadsheet with formulas and only give out copies with values.
If you need to make a change, use your backup. What occurs when you move, copy, insert, or delete worksheets The following examples explain what happens when you move, copy, insert, or delete worksheets that are included in a 3-D reference. A2:A5 to add cells A2 through A5 on worksheets 2 through 6. Insert or copy If you insert or copy sheets between Sheet2 and Sheet6 the endpoints in this example , Excel includes all values in cells A2 through A5 from the added sheets in the calculations.
Delete If you delete sheets between Sheet2 and Sheet6, Excel removes their values from the calculation. Move If you move sheets from between Sheet2 and Sheet6 to a location outside the referenced sheet range, Excel removes their values from the calculation. Move an endpoint If you move Sheet2 or Sheet6 to another location in the same workbook, Excel adjusts the calculation to accommodate the new range of sheets between them.
Delete an endpoint If you delete Sheet2 or Sheet6, Excel adjusts the calculation to accommodate the range of sheets between them. You can also use a reference style where both the rows and the columns on the worksheet are numbered. The R1C1 reference style is useful for computing row and column positions in macros. In the R1C1 style, Excel indicates the location of a cell with an "R" followed by a row number and a "C" followed by a column number.
When you record a macro, Excel records some commands by using the R1C1 reference style. For example, if you record a command, such as clicking the AutoSum button to insert a formula that adds a range of cells, Excel records the formula by using R1C1 style, not A1 style, references. You can turn the R1C1 reference style on or off by setting or clearing the R1C1 reference style check box under the Working with formulas section in the Formulas category of the Options dialog box.
To display this dialog box, click the File tab. You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in the Answers community. Switch between relative, absolute and mixed references for functions. Using calculation operators in Excel formulas.
The order in which Excel performs operations in formulas. Using functions and nested functions in Excel formulas. Define and use names in formulas. Guidelines and examples of array formulas.
Delete or remove a formula. How to avoid broken formulas. Find and correct errors in formulas.
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