What are functions?

Functions are pre-defined “Formulas” which perform operations with one or more values in the correct order.
The most commonly used ones are “SUM” and “AVERAGE” but, there are many more. I will review several of them in this course. But to be honest, there are a few functions which I still do not know.

The “Formulas” tab in the “Ribbon”

All functions are placed in different categories, under the tab “Formulas” in the “Ribbon”.

First we have the category “Auto sum”. In this category we have several functions:
“Sum” — which calculates the sum of a selected “Range”.
“Average” — which calculates the average of a selected “Range”.
“Count of numbers” — which count the numbers in the selected “Range”.
“Max” — which selects the highest value within a selected “Range”.
“Min” — which selects the lowest value within a selected “Range”.

 

These same frequently used functions can be found under the “Home” tab.

Back to the “Formulas”.

In addition to the “Auto sum” category we find the “Recently used” category. When we click on it, we are shown a list of the top ten functions that we have used most frequently.

Next to the “Recently used” category, we find the “Financial” category. Here we find a list of many financial and accounting functions.

Then we have the “Logical” category. Here we find the logic functions. So if you want to compare values, then this is the category you need to select functions from. For example, if you need to know the result of a “what if” problem then this is the category to come to.

In addition, we find the “Text” category. In this category there are also many functions.

The “Date & time” functions are used when we want to perform operations with dates.

In the “Lookup & reference” functions we find tools to perform data analysis.

In the “Math & Trig” and “More functions”, we find many features which can be used by engineers, mathematicians, etc. but this is beyond scope of this course.

 

“Insert” functions

To “Insert” a function, we first select the cell where the function is to be inserted. Next, we click the function in the menu bar. The example below shows me selecting the sum or total of my sales in cell F9.

I first select the cell (1), and click the “Auto sum” button in the “Ribbon” (2).
“Excel” offers you an instant proposal (3), showing the cell range which it thinks you may want to use to calculate the sum.
Click the Enter key on your keyboard when you’re happy with this.

The result of adding these cells will appear directly in the selected “SUM” cell (1).

In the “Formula bar” we now see the imported function = SUM(F4:F8) (2).

 

If you are not satisfied with the “suggestion” that “Excel” gives, you can always change the “Range” proposed in the following ways:

1. By moving the mouse pointer to click and drag over the cells you want to count.
2. Dragging the frame around the “Range” .
3. Or by manually typing in the “Range” between the parentheses in the “Formula”.

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