The basics of Excel formulas

• Before providing the basic Excel formulas list, let's define the
key terms just to make sure we are on the same page. 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.
Functions perform specific calculations in a particular order
based on the specified values, called arguments, or parameters.
• For example, instead of specifying each value to be summed
like in the above formula, you can use the SUM function to add
up a range of cells: =SUM(A2:A4)
• You can find all available Excel functions in the Function
Library on the Formulas tab:
There exist 400+ functions in Excel, and the number
is growing by version to version. Of course, it's next
to impossible to memorize all of them, and you
actually don't need to. The Function Wizard will
help you find the function best suited for a
particular task, while the Excel Formula
Intellisense will prompt the function's syntax and
arguments as soon as you type the function's name
preceded by an equal sign in a cell:
Tip. You don't necessarily have to type a function
name in all caps, Microsoft Excel will automatically
capitalize it once you finish typing the formula and
press the Enter key to complete it.
• 10 Excel basic functions you should definitely know
• What follows below is a list of 10 simple yet really helpful
functions that are a necessary skill for everyone who wishes
to turn from an Excel novice to an Excel professional.
1. SUM
• The first Excel function you should be familiar with is the one
that performs the basic arithmetic operation of addition:
SUM(number1, [number2], …)
• In the syntax of all Excel functions, an argument enclosed in
[square brackets] is optional, other arguments are required.
Meaning, your Sum formula should include at least 1 number,
reference to a cell or a range of cells. For example:
• =SUM(B2:B6) - adds up values in cells B2 through B6.
• =SUM(B2, B6) - adds up values in cells B2 and B6.
• If necessary, you can perform other calculations within a
single formula, for example, add up values in cells B2
through B6, and then divide the sum by 5:
=SUM(B2:B6)/5
• To sum with conditions, use the SUMIF function: in the 1st
argument, you enter the range of cells to be tested against
the criteria (A2:A6), in the 2nd argument - the criteria itself
(D2), and in the last argument - the cells to sum (B2:B6):
=SUMIF(A2:A6, D2, B2:B6)
Tip. The fastest way to sum a column or row of numbers is to
select a cell next to the numbers you want to sum (the cell
immediately below the last value in the column or to the right
of the last number in the row), and click the AutoSum button
on the Home tab, in the Formats group. Excel will insert a
SUM formula for you automatically.
2. AVERAGE
• The Excel AVERAGE function does exactly what its name suggests, i.e.
finds an average, or arithmetic mean, of numbers. Its syntax is similar to
SUM's:
• AVERAGE(number1, [number2], …)
• Having a closer look at the formula from the previous section
(=SUM(B2:B6)/5), what does it actually do? Sums values in cells B2
through B6, and then divides the result by 5. And what do you call
adding up a group of numbers and then dividing the sum by the count of
those numbers? Yep, an average!
• The Excel AVERAGE function performs these calculations behind the
scenes. So, instead of dividing sum by count, you can simply put this
formula in a cell:
• =AVERAGE(B2:B6)
• To average cells based on condition, use the following AVERAGEIF
formula, where A2:A6 is the criteria range, D3 is he criteria, and B2:B6
are the cells to average:
• =AVERAGEIF(A2:A6, D3, B2:B6)
3. MAX & MIN
• The MAX and MIN formulas in Excel get the largest and smallest
value in a set of numbers, respectively. For our sample data set,
the formulas will be as simple as:
• =MAX(B2:B6)
• =MIN(B2:B6)
4.COUNT & COUNTA
• If you are curious to know how many cells in a given range
contain numeric values (numbers or dates), don't waste your time
counting them by hand. The Excel COUNT function will bring you
the count in a heartbeat:
• COUNT(value1, [value2], …)
• While the COUNT function deals only with those cells that contain
numbers, the COUNTA function counts all cells that are not blank,
whether they contain numbers, dates, times, text, logical values of
TRUE and FALSE, errors or empty text strings (""):
COUNTA (value1, [value2], …)
• For example, to find out how many cells in column B contain
numbers, use this formula:
• =COUNT(B:B)
• To count all non-empty cells in column B, go with this one:
• =COUNTA(B:B)
• In both formulas, you use the so-called "whole column
reference" (B:B) that refers to all the cells within column B.
5. IF
• Judging by the number of IF-related comments on our blog, it's
the most popular function in Excel. In simple terms, you use an
IF formula to ask Excel to test a certain condition and return
one value or perform one calculation if the condition is met,
and another value or calculation if the condition is not met:
• IF(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false])
• For example, the following IF statement checks if the order is completed
(i.e. there is a value in column C) or not. To test if a cell is not blank, you
use the "not equal to" operator ( <>) in combination with an empty string
(""). As the result, if cell C2 is not empty, the formula returns "Yes",
otherwise "No":
• =IF(C2<>"", "Yes", "No")
6. TRIM
• If your obviously correct Excel formulas return just a bunch of errors, one
of the first things to check is extra spaces in the referenced cells (You may
be surprised to know how many leading, trailing and in-between spaces
lurk unnoticed in your sheets just until something goes wrong!).
• There are several ways to remove unwanted spaces in Excel, with the TRIM
function being the easiest one:
TRIM(text)
For example, to trim extra spaces in column A, enter the following formula in
cell A1, and then copy it down the column:
• =TRIM(A1)
• It will eliminate all extra spaces in cells but a single space character
between words:
7. LEN
• Whenever you want to know the number of characters in a certain cell, LEN is the function to
use:
LEN(text)
• Wish to find out how many characters are in cell A2? Just type the below formula into another
cell:
• =LEN(A2)
• Please keep in mind that the Excel LEN function counts absolutely all characters including
spaces:
8. AND & OR
• These are the two most popular logical functions to check multiple criteria. The difference is
how they do this:
• AND returns TRUE if all conditions are met, FALSE otherwise.
• OR returns TRUE if any condition is met, FALSE otherwise.
• While rarely used on their own, these functions come in very handy as part of bigger formulas.
• For example, to check the test results in columns B and C and return "Pass" if both are greater
than 60, "Fail" otherwise, use the following IF formula with an embedded AND statement:
• =IF(AND(B2>60, B2>60), "Pass", "Fail")
• If it's sufficient to have just one test score greater than 60 (either test 1 or test 2), embed the
OR statement:
• =IF(OR(B2>60, B2>60), "Pass", "Fail")
9. CONCATENATE
• In case you want to take values from two or more cells and combine
them into one cell, use the concatenate operator (&) or the
CONCATENATE function:
• CONCATENATE(text1, [text2], …)
• For example, to combine the values from cells A2 and B2, just enter the
following formula in a different cell:
• =CONCATENATE(A2, B2)
• To separate the combined values with a space, type the space character
(" ") in the arguments list:
• =CONCATENATE(A2, " ", B2)
10. TODAY & NOW
• To see the current date and time whenever you open your worksheet
without having to manually update it on a daily basis, use either:
• =TODAY() to insert the today's date in a cell.
• =NOW() to insert the current date and time in a cell.
• The beauty of these functions is that they don't require any arguments at
all, you type the formulas exactly as written above.