excel 2010 formulas & functions - dosp.org · excel is the world’s premier spreadsheet...

Excel is the world’s premier

spreadsheet software. You can use

Excel to analyze numbers, keep track

of data, and graphically represent

your information. With Excel 2010,

you can manage more data than ever,

with increased worksheet and

workbook sizes. Excel also makes

your job easier by providing an easy

to use interface, and an array of

Excel 2010

Formulas &

FunctionsModule3

Christine M. Dandaraw, MCT

The backbone of Excel is its ability to perform calculations. There are two ways to set

up calculations in Excel: using formulas or using functions. Formulas are

mathematical expressions that you build yourself. You need to follow proper math

principles in order to obtain the expected answer. Building the formula is simply a

matter of combining the proper cell addresses with the correct operators in the right

order. This module will explore how to build, edit, and copy formulas.

Diocese of St. Petersburg pg. 2 9/5/2014

Table of Contents

Create Basic Formulas ............................................................................... 3 Formula Basics: ........................................................................................ 3 Operators used in Formulas: ...................................................................... 4 Calculate with Functions ............................................................................ 5 Editing Formulas ...................................................................................... 6 References in Formulas ............................................................................. 7 Quick Calculator ....................................................................................... 8 Create an Absolute Reference ..................................................................... 8 Create an Absolute Reference ..................................................................... 9 Arguments .............................................................................................. 9 Copying a Formula: Drag and Drop Method ................................................. 10 To fill formulas ........................................................................................ 10 Formula Bar ............................................................................................ 11 The Insert Function Dialog ........................................................................ 13 The Insert Function Dialog ........................................................................ 13 Search for a Function ............................................................................... 14 Select A Category .................................................................................... 14 Paste Special .......................................................................................... 14 Switching Rows of Cells to Columns or Columns to Rows ............................... 14 Pasting Only Values, Formulas, Comments, or Cell Formats ........................... 15 The Date function .................................................................................... 15 Date Functions ........................................................................................ 16 Date Functions ........................................................................................ 16 The Days360 Function in Excel .................................................................. 18 Using Financial Functions .......................................................................... 19 PMT Function .......................................................................................... 19 Financial Formulas - by Category ............................................................... 22 Depreciation Formulas .............................................................................. 22 Formulas for Interest, Cash Flow, Investments, Annuities .............................. 22 Functions for Coupons .............................................................................. 22 Finance Formulas for Securities ................................................................. 23 Formulas for Dollar Price Conversions ......................................................... 23 Treasury Bill Functions ............................................................................. 23 Using Logical “IF” Function ........................................................................ 24 Performing calculations ............................................................................ 25 Displaying text ........................................................................................ 26 Leaving Cells Blank 26


Create Basic Formulas

Formulas are entries that have an equation that calculates the value to display. We DO

NOT type in the numbers we are looking for; we type in the equation. This equation will

be updated upon the change or entry of any data that is referenced in the equation.

Formula Basics: Formulas OR Functions MUST BEGIN with an equal sign (=) so that

Excel can distinguish it from text.

We use formulas to CALCULATE a value to be displayed.

A formula consists of any of the following elements:

A. Mathematical operators

B. Cell references (including named cells and ranges)

C. Values or text

D. Worksheet functions (such as SUM or AVERAGE)

Examples of formulas:

=100*.05 Multiplies 100 times 0.05

(This formula only uses values and therefore is not very useful)

=A1*A2 Multiplies the contents of cell A1 by the contents of cell A2

(This formula uses cell references.)

=Income-Expenses Subtracts the cell named Expenses from the cell named

Income


Operators used in Formulas:

+ Addition

- Subtraction

* Multiplication

/ Division

^ Exponentiation

& Concatenation

= Logical comparison (equal to)

> Logical comparison (greater than)

< Logical comparison (less than)

>= Logical comparison (greater than or equal to)

<= Logical comparison (less than or equal to)

<> Logical comparison (not equal to)

You can use as many operators as you need in a formula.

Operator Precedence in Formulas:

Excel follows a certain order of operators, when it calculates a formula:

1. Items in parentheses

2. Exponentiation

3. Multiplication and division (from left to right)

4. Addition and subtraction (from left to right)

Example: =(B2-B3)*B4 will yield a different result than =B2-B3*B4

Probably the most popular function in any spreadsheet is the SUM function. The Sum

function takes all of the values in each of the specified cells and totals their values. The

syntax is:

=SUM(first value, second value, etc)

There are many functions built into many spreadsheets.


Average function. The average function finds the average of the specified data.

(Simplifies adding all of the indicated cells together and dividing by the total number of

cells.) The syntax is as follows.

=Average (first value, second value, etc.)

Calculate with Functions

SUM Example = SUM(C3:G9)

Result: Total of all numbers in the range.

AVERAGE Example = AVERAGE(C3:G9)

Result: Average of all numbers in the range.

COUNTIF Example = COUNTIF(C3:G9, “>55”)

Result: # of cells in the range containing numbers greater than 55.

COUNTA Example =COUNTA(C3:C25)

Result: Number of Actual items in row

Used in counting groups of similar numbers within a set of data.

TODAY() Example = TODAY()

Result = current date. Useful for forms that require a date.

ROUND Example = ROUND(A4/3,2)

Result if A4 = 5 then 5/3 = 1.6666 which is rounded to 1.67

Entering Formulas into Your Worksheet:

a. Manually – just type the formula starting with the equal sign

b. By pointing – type an equal sign, click on the cell, type in the operator, click

on the next cell


Name Box displays the reference of the active cell Drops down a list of names

The Cancel Button cancels the entry in the The Enter Button accepts the entry in the formula bar Edit Formula initiates the formula editor

Entry Area of the formula bar

Active Cell

Editing Formulas

Excel provides multiple ways to edit the contents of a cell:

a. Double click on the cell

b. Press F2 while the cell is active

c. Click on the formula bar while the cell is active

Formula Bar


References in Formulas:

References identify cells or groups of cells on a worksheet. Column references range

from A through IV (256 columns). Row references range from 1 through 16,384

References are of three types:

Relative A10

Absolute $A$10

Mixed $A10 or A$10

Use the F4 key to convert relative references to absolute or mixed references. The F4

key cycles through each type.

AutoSum

AutoSum is a simple mathematical formula to display the total sum of the neighboring

cells. Excel chooses these cells automatically based on the ideal usage of the position of

the result. AutoSum first checks if there is any continuous group of cells which has

numbers above the result cell for its range, then it checks to the left side of the result

cell. But the range of cells that are included for the calculation can be reselected

manually by dragging if it’s wrong.

How to use AutoSum?

In Excel 2003, you can use the AutoSum symbol (which is a sigma sign) from the

toolbar and In Excel 2007, you can find the AutoSum function in the Editing section

(which is on the far right side) under Home tab.

Keyboard Shortcut to AutoSum in Excel

But you can always use the keyboard Shortcut, ALT + = to do the AutoSum. This tip

comes very handy if most of your daily calculations depend on addition of values.


Quick Tip: AutoSum can be used not only when the values are adjacent to the result

cells, but even if it’s randomly displayed. All that you have to do is, press ALT+= in

the cell where you want the result to be displayed and while holding the CTRL key click

all the cells that you want to be included in the result.

Quick Calculator

When you want a quick calculation of a column highlight the range of cells or entire

column and select the quick calculator on the status bar. You can choose from several

operators.


Create an Absolute Reference

Excel accepts cell references in what are called absolute and relative ranges.

Absolute ranges have a $ character before either the column portion of the

reference and/or the row portion of the reference. Relative ranges do not use

the $ character. The $ character indicates to Excel that it should not increment

the column and/or row reference as you fill a range with a formula or as you

copy a range. For example A1 is a relative range, while $A$1 is an absolute

range. If you enter =A1 in a cell and then fill that cell down a column, the '1' in

the reference will increment in each row. Thus, the formula in row 50 would be

=A50. However, if you enter =$A$1 in a cell and fill down, the range reference

will remain $A$1 -- it will not increment as you fill or copy down a column.

There are three absolute styles:

Reference Style Meaning

$A$1 Both the column and row reference is fixed. Neither will be incremented or changed during a copy or fill.

$A1 Only the column reference is fixed. It will not change during a fill or copy, but the row will change.

A$1 Only the row reference is fixed. It will not change during a fill or copy, but the column will change.

Arguments

In certain cases, you may need to use a function as one of the arguments of another

function. For example, the following formula uses a nested AVERAGE function and

compares the result with the value 50.

Valid returns When a nested function is used as an argument, it must return the

same type of value that the argument uses. For example, if the argument returns a

TRUE or FALSE value, then the nested function must return a TRUE or FALSE. If it

doesn't, Microsoft Excel displays a #VALUE! error value.


Nesting level limits A formula can contain up to seven levels of nested functions.

When Function B is used as an argument in Function A, Function B is a second-level

function. For instance, the AVERAGE function and the SUM function are both second-

level functions because they are arguments of the IF function. A function nested within

the AVERAGE function would be a third-level function, and so on.

Copying a Formula: Drag and Drop Method

To fill formulas

1. First, click the cell that contains the formula you want to copy.

2. Move the mouse pointer to the fill handle in the lower right corner of cell until

the mouse pointer changes to a large black plus sign.

3. Then drag across to the cell where you want to drop the formula.

4. Release the mouse button, Excel fills the cell with the formula.

Enter a function in Formula Pallet

Select the cell where you want to insert the function. Click the

Insert Menu and click the Function. Select the function you want

to use and click OK. Enter

the function arguments and

click OK.

Tips


You can adjust the size of the Formula Bar. Click and drag the rounded edge of the

Name Box to adjust it horizontally. To adjust it vertically, click and drag the bottom

border of the Formula Bar or click the Expand Formula Bar button at the end of the

Formula Bar.

You can use the Formula AutoComplete feature to help you create and edit complex

formulas. Type an = (equal sign) in a cell or the Formula Bar and start typing the

formula. As you do this, a list appears of functions and names that fit with the text you

entered. Select an item from the list to insert it into the formula.

Formula Bar

Click the cell in which you want to enter the formula.

1. In the formula bar , type = (equal sign).

2. Do one of the following:

To create a reference, select a cell, a range of cells, a location in

another worksheet, or a location in another workbook. You can

drag the border of the cell selection to move the selection, or

drag the corner of the border to expand the selection.

To enter a reference to a named range, press F3, select the

name in the Paste name box, and click OK.

3. Press ENTER.


The following formulas contain functions.

Example formula What it does

=SUM(A:A) Adds all numbers in column A

=AVERAGE(A1:B4) Averages all numbers in the range

1. Click the cell in which you want to enter the formula.

2. To start the formula with the function, click Insert Function on the

formula bar .

3. Select the function you want to use. You can enter a question that describes

what you want to do in the Search for a function box (for example, "add

numbers" returns the SUM function), or browse from the categories in the Or

Select a category box.

4. Enter the arguments. To enter cell references as an argument, click Collapse

Dialog to temporarily hide the dialog box. Select the cells on the

worksheet, then press Expand Dialog .

5. When you complete the formula, press ENTER.


The Insert Function Dialog

Called the Paste Function dialog in older versions, but the Insert Function dialog

in newer versions, this dialog box is used to insert or paste the selected function into

the chosen cell. The big advantage to using this feature comes as you become more

comfortable writing Excel formulas. Initially it is most beneficial because it can be used

as a step-by-step guide for each argument in a function. What this means is, if you are

going to be using a simple function such as the SUM, MIN, MAX etc. , it really serves no

purpose. When writing slightly harder functions such as COUNTIF, SUMIF etc. , it can

aid greatly.

Let’s display the Insert Function dialog and have a superficial look at it. There are

three methods we can use to show this dialog box and which one you use is purely

optional. The three methods are:

Going to Insert>Function

Push Shift + F3

Click the Insert Function icon to the left of your Formula bar (Fx), or for older

version users, click the Paste Function icon on your Standard toolbar.

Once activated you will see the Insert Function dialog pop up in front of you.

Depending on which version of Excel you are using, these heading names may vary

slightly in this dialog box.


Search for a Function

Type a brief description of what you want to do in this box, then click Go to view a list

of appropriate Functions.

Select A Category

In this dialog box you will see the Category Names that the Functions are grouped in.

Click All to see a list of All Functions displayed in the Select A Function: box in

alphabetical order. Click Most Recently Used to see a list of the last 10 functions

used in the Select a Function: box.

Paste Special

Instead of copying entire cells, you can copy specified cell contents - such as the cell

format or the result of a formula, but not the formula itself - with the Paste Special

command. You can also switch data from columns to rows and vice versa.

Switching Rows of Cells to Columns or Columns to Rows

1. Select the cells that you want to switch.

2. Open the Edit menu and select Copy.

3. Select the upper left cell of the paste

area. The paste area must be outside

the copy area.

4. Open the Edit menu and select Paste

Special.

5. Select the Transpose check box.

6. Click OK.


Pasting Only Values, Formulas, Comments, or Cell Formats

1. Select the cell or range of cells you want to copy.

2. Open the Edit menu and select Copy.

3. Click the cell you want to paste the information into, or

click the upper left boundary of the cell range you want

to paste the information into.

4. Open the Edit menu and select Paste Special.

5. Select Formula to copy only the formula of the cell.

6. Highlight Values to copy only the outcome of the

formula you copied into the cell and not the formula

itself.

7. Select Format to copy just the format of the cell (font,

alignment, and so on).

8. Choose Comments to copy only annotations for the cell.

9. Click OK to accept the option you selected.

The Date function

To enter the current date into the spreadsheet use the =NOW() function

1. Select the cell in

the spreadsheet where you want

the date to appear.

2. Type = NOW ( ) in

the cell to add the current date to

the spreadsheet.

3. Press the ENTER key

on the keyboard.


Date Functions

To enter a date Function, do the

following:

1. Click on Insert from the

menu bar

2. From the drop down

menu, click on Function

3. In the Function

category section, click

on Date & Time

4. In the Function name

section, click on Date

5. Click the OK button at the bottom

6. The formula palette appears on your spreadsheet

7. Click inside the Year box and

enter the year

8. Click inside the Month box and

enter the number of the month

(e.g. 10 for October)

9. Click inside the Day box and

enter the number 15 (The 15th

day - or enter another number,

if you want.)

10. Click the OK button at the

bottom

11. Excel enters the Date in cell.


Notice how the date Function is set out in the Formula box. It is set out as

=Date(2008, 10, 15).

However, in cell the date

appears as 4/15. It has missed

out the year completely!

The reason Excel has missed the

year out is because of the way

cell was formatted. To change

the formatting of cell, click on

Format form the menu bar.

From the drop down menu, click

on Cells. The format dialogue

box appears. Click the Number

tab strip at the top. Under

Category, click on Date. A list

of different date types appears

in the Type list. The following picture shows this:

The Type section of the dialogue box is where you set how

you want your date to look. At the moment, the first option is

selected 3/14. Scroll down and click on March 14, 2001. Then

click the OK button at the bottom. Your spreadsheet will now

look like this one:


The Days360 Function in Excel

The Function to use when you want to work out how many days difference there are

between two dates is the Date360( ) function. So click on cell you wish to have the

results appear and do the

following:

1. From the menu bar, click

on Insert

2. From the drop down list,

click on Function

3. The Paste Function

dialogue box appears

4. Under Function

category, click on Date

& Time

5. Under Function name,

click on Days360( )

6. Click the OK button at the bottom

7. The formula palette appears on your spreadsheet:

What Excel is looking for here

is two dates: a start date and

an end date. Click inside the

Method box and enter True

(This will ensure that Excel

calculates from the European

date system.) Click the OK

button when you're done.

Your spreadsheet might look

like the one below:


Make sure that your cell is formatted as a number, and set the Decimal places to zero.

Your spreadsheet will then show the correct answer, like the one below:

Entering dates can be fairly straightforward. But performing calculations with dates can

be slightly more complex.

Using Financial Functions

PMT Function

"Calculates the payment for a loan based

on constant payments and a constant

interest rate."

1. Click on Insert from the menu bar

2. From the drop down menu, click on

Function

3. In the

Function

category section,

click on Date & Time


In the Function name section, click on Choose "Financial" from the box that says "Or

select a category" and choose

PMT from the list below.

Click OK and you will be presented

with this box

Now, all you have to do is fill in the boxes and Excel will give you your answer:

1. In the "Rate" box,

type is the cell

reference that

contains your interest

rate. However, the

lending agency will

give you the YEARLY

rate and what you

need is the MONTHLY

rate, so, you need to

put B5/12 in this box

(that’s B5 divided by

12 months in a year)

2. The "Nper" box is for the number of payment periods and we have that entered

in B3, so put B3 in this box.

(TIP: You don’t have to type B3 in the box. If your cursor is positioned in the

box, you can just click on cell B3 and Excel will put it in the box for you.)

3. The "Pv" box is for the present value, or the amount you are going to pay. That

value is in B4, so put B4 in that box.


4. Notice that "Fv" and "Type" are not in bold like the others. This is because these

arguments are optional, whereas the bold ones are mandatory. See at the

bottom of the box that Excel tells you that Fv is the future value and if you

leave it empty, Excel will assume 0 (zero). Since you want to pay this loan off

entirely, you want a zero balance, so just hit your tab key to leave this empty

and move to the "Type" box.

5. Lending agencies often offer different payment amounts if the load is paid at the

beginning of the month than if it is paid at the end of the month. Your lending

agency will tell you if they offer this. For now, put a zero (0) in that box,

assuming you will pay this loan at end of the month.

6. Then click OK.

Your spreadsheet should now look like this and you see your monthly payments with

these choices are $436.70.

And, if you want to know if you can retire early, try Excel’s Financial Function named

"FV" and see if you can figure out how to determine what that savings plan you have

will be worth in 25 years.


Financial Formulas - by Category

Financial functions, with a * next those that are only available after installing the

Analysis ToolPak (To install, go to Tools > Add-ins > and select Analysis ToolPak).

Depreciation Formulas

DB - Fixed-Declining Balance DDB - Double-Declining Balance SLN - Straight-Line Depreciation SYD - Sum-of-Years' Digits VDB - Variable Declining Balance * AMORLINC - (for the French accounting system) Depreciation for each

accounting period * AMORDEGRC - (for the French accounting system) Uses a depreciation

coefficient

Formulas for Interest, Cash Flow, Investments, Annuities

* CUMIPMT - Cumulative Interest Payment * CUMPRINC - Cumulative Principal * EFFECT - Effective annual interest rate FV - Future Value of an investment * FVSCHEDULE - Future Value with a variable rate IPMT - Interest Payment for an investment or loan IRR - Internal Rate of Return ISPMT - Interest Payment during a Specific period (for compatibility with Lotus) MIRR - Modified Internal Rate of Return NPER - Number of Periods for an investment or loan NPV - Net Present Value formula PMT - Periodic Payment for an annuity PPMT - Payment on the Principal for an annuity or loan PV - Present Value of an investment RATE - Interest rate per period * XIRR - Internal Rate of Return (not necessarily periodic) * XNPV - Net Present Value (not necessarily periodic)

Functions for Coupons

* COUPDAYBS - Days from the Beginning of the Coupon period to the Settlement date

* COUPDAYS - Days in the coupon period that contains the Settlement date * COUPDAYSNC - Days from the Settlement date to the Next Coupon date * COUPNCD - Next Coupon Date after the settlement date * COUPPCD - Previous Coupon Date before the settlement date * COUPNUM - Number of coupons between the settlement and maturity date


Finance Formulas for Securities

* ACCRINT - Accrued Interest * ACCRINTM - Accrued Interest at Maturity * DISC - Discount rate * DURATION - Annual Duration * INTRATE - Interest rate for a fully invested security * MDURATION - Macauley modified duration (with an assumed par value of

$100) * NOMINAL - Annual nominal interest rate * ODDFPRICE - Price per $100 face value with an Odd First period * ODDFYIELD - Yield with an Odd First period * ODDLPRICE - Price per $100 face value with an Odd Last period * ODDLYIELD - Yield with an Odd Last period * PRICE - Price per $100 face value * PRICEDISC - Price per $100 face value of a Discounted security * PRICEMAT - Price per $100 face value of a security that pays interest at

Maturity * RECEIVED - Amount received at maturity for a fully invested security * YIELD - Yield on a security that pays periodic interest * YIELDDISC - Annual yield for a discounted security (Treasury bill) * YIELDMAT - Annual yield of a security that pays interest at maturity

Formulas for Dollar Price Conversions

* DOLLARDE - Converts a dollar price from a Fraction to a Decimal number * DOLLARFR - Converts a dollar price from a Decimal number to a Fraction

Treasury Bill Functions

* TBILLEQ - Bond-equivalent yield for a Treasury Bill * TBILLPRICE - Price per $100 face value for a Treasury Bill * TBILLYIELD - Yield for a Treasury Bill


Using Logical “IF” Function

The IF function is one of Excel’s most useful and most used functions. What it does,

basically, is test to see whether a certain condition is true or false. If the condition is

true, the function will do one thing, if the condition is false, the function will do

something else.

The basic form or syntax of the function is:

=IF(logic test, value if true, value if false)

The logic test is always a comparison between two values. Comparison operators are

used, for example, to see if the first value is greater than or less than the second, or

equal to it. The "value if true" and "value if false" parts of the function are known as

arguments. They tell the function what to do, depending on the outcome of the logic

test.

Nested IF Functions

A Nested IF function is when a second IF function is placed inside the first in order to

test additional conditions. "Nesting" IF functions increases the flexibility of the function

by increasing the number of possible outcomes.

For example, deductions from an employee's income usually depends on employee

income. The higher the income, the higher the deduction rate. We can use an IF

function to determine what the deduction rate will be.

For this example, if employee income is:

less than $29,701, the deduction rate is 15%

greater than or equal to $29,701, but less than $71,950, the deduction rate is 25%

greater than or equal to $71,950, the deduction rate is 28%


The first deduction rate is handled by the logic test and the value if true argument of

the first IF function. To do this, we write the beginning of the IF function as:

=IF(A5 < 29701, A5*15%,

To add the second and third deduction levels, we nest one IF function inside another.

For example:

=IF(A5<29701,A5*15%,IF(A5<71950,A5*25%,A5*28%))

The logic test of the Nested IF function, checks to see if a employee’s income is

greater than or equal to $29,701, but less than $71,950. If it is, the deduction rate is

25%. If the income is greater than or equal to $71,950, the deduction rate is 28%.

Additional rate changes could be added another nested IF functions inside the existing

function.

Note: there is no comma separator in 29,701 or 71,950 in the above example. This is

because the IF function uses the comma to separate the three sections of the IF

function contained within the round brackets.

If you use a comma as a separator in numbers greater than a thousand, Excel will give

you an error message saying you have too many arguments in your function.

Performing calculations

The IF function can perform different calculations depending on whether the function

returns a true value or not.

The example below uses different deduction rates in its calculations based on employee

income.

=IF(A5 < 29701, A5 * 15%, A5 * 25%)

If employees earn above a certain level, one deduction rate will be used in the

calculation, if their income is below this level, a different deduction rate will be used.

What the above example does is test to see if the value in cell A5 is less than 29,701.

If it is, the function multiplies the value in cell A5 by 15%(the "value if true"

argument). If the value in A5 is greater than or equal to 29,701, then the amount in

cell A5 is multiplied by 25% (the "value if false" argument).


Displaying text

Having text displayed by an IF function rather than a number can make it easier to find

and read specific results in the spreadsheet.

Below, the example IF function is setup to test whether a student's mark is greater

than or equal to 50. If it is, "Passed" is written into the target cell. If not, the word

"Failed" appears.

=IF(A5>=50,”Passed”,”Failed”)

A second example could be used by a company to quickly determine which employees

are entitled to a bonus for exceeding a certain level of production.

=IF(A5>=5000,”Pay Bonus”,”No Bonus”)

Leaving Cells Blank

Having an IF function return a blank cell is similar to having it return words or a text

statement. You use quotation marks as with text, but just don’t put anything between

them.

=IF(A5 > 5000,”Too High”,” ”)

In this example, the IF function acts as a flag. If the value in cell A5 goes above 5,000,

the warning “Too High” is displayed in the cell. If A5 is not above 5,000, there is no

need for a warning so the cell remains blank.

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