basic functions - excel 2013 tutorial

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Full Training Course for Excel® 2013:

LESSON: BASIC FUNCTIONS

LEVEL: BEGINNER

CONTENTS:

6 Standard Function Syntax

12 Basic Numerical Functions

23 The AutoSum & Quick Analysis Feature

26 The Insert Function Tool

30 Editing & Deleting Functins WWW.SPREADSHEETTRAINER.COM

It’s time to turn your spreadsheet up a notch.

Learning functions greatly expands the possibilities of what can be done in Excel.

This presentation introduces you to basic Excel function syntax and usage, and runs through some

basic mathematical functions.

By the end of this presentation you can:

calculate sum, max, min, average & count with functions

make calculations quickly with the AutoSum Feature

Use the Insert Function tool to insert any function in Excel

This table shows test results for 10 students.

Let’s use mathematical functions to analyse the results.

There are three basic parts to any function:

The equals sign tells Excel that it should calculate the cell’s value

1. Equals Sign

The function name tells Excel what task it will be performing.

2. Function Name

The arguments tell Excel what values it should perform the task on.

Enter these by typing the address, clicking the cells or using arrow keys.

3. Function Arguments

You can input function arguments using cell or range addresses.

This example refers to four cells: B2, C2, D2 & E2.

3. Function Arguments

As you start to type the function, Excel’s AutoComplete makes suggestions:

Let’s use the Count function to see how many tests each student has sat.

Count() counts the number of non-empty cells in the range you specify.

I’ve copied down the functions to other students.

If you don’t know how to do this, then ignore this. We’ll cover this later.

The Sum() function adds up the arguments you give it.

And Min() calculates the minimum:

Average() calculates… you guessed it… the average of the inputs.

Average() ignores blank cells in its calculation.

Functions will update automatically as the inputs change:

We’ve used a colon (:) to use arguments in a continuous range.

To refer to cells/ranges separately, split them up with a comma.

For example, the above function does the same thing as before.

You can use any combination of cell references, values, formulas or other functions as arguments in a function:

To insert many formulas at once, highlight all the cells you want, type in the first formula then click CTRL + Enter. Excel

Excel inputs all the formulas based on their respective arguments.

AutoSum & Quick Analysis

The AutoSum tool makes it easy to quickly enter basic functions.

Excel guesses the arguments you might want to use.

A new feature is the Quick Analysis tool.

Highlight the relevant cells, click the box that appears, then click Totals.

The Insert Function Tool

The Insert Function tool helps find any of Excel’s in-built functions.

The pop-up has all Excel functions grouped by category, and a search tool.

When you choose a formula, Excel helps you input the arguments and gives more information. This is slower, but useful for functions you don’t know well.

Editing and Deleting Functions

Excel shows the results of the calculation in the cell, but shows the underlying function in the formula bar.

To edit the function, double click in the cell, press F2 or click in the formula bar to edit with the cursor.

To delete function(s), select the cell(s) and press Delete.

Now the cell can be used as normal for another formula, value, or text.

You can also use the Insert Function tool to edit functions which already exist in a cell.

Functions are very powerful and customizable. You can create custom functions to perform specific

tasks.

This is a more advanced topic and will be covered later.

Full Training Course for Excel® 2013:

NEXT: USING THE FILL HANDLE

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