Excel's Best

Functions

Tommy B. Harrington
104 Azalea Drive
Greenville, NC 27858
Email: tommy@tommyharrington.com

Computer Training YOU Can

Understand!

Excels BEST Functions

By Tommy B. Harrington
Table of Contents
SUMFUNCTION...............................................................................................................................................3
IFFUNCTION....................................................................................................................................................4
SUMIFANDCOUNTIF.......................................................................................................................................5
VLOOKUPFUNCTION.......................................................................................................................................7
ADVANCEDSHORTCUTS..................................................................................................................................9
FUNCTIONSFORDATES.................................................................................................................................12
TEXTFUNCTIONS...........................................................................................................................................13

Functions and formulas are the most important part of Excel worksheets. Discover the
functions that are most useful when getting your daily work done. Learn to use VLOOKUP
and other functions that might do the same job in better ways. Learn functions that can
solve problems when importing data.
Youll discover functions that save hours of time when creating routine summaries.
Become an expert on the most useful Excel functions. During the last 20 years working
with many companies, organizations, and institutions; I realized there were some functions
that all Excel users needed to be able to use. If you learn when and how to use these
functions, you will get more work done in less time.
You will learn to use Excels most useful functionsSUMIFS, COUNTIFS, IF, ISNA,
ROUND, VLOOKUP, INDEX, MATCH & the TEXT functions. Learn to use functions and
formulas when working with dates. Youll be amazed at all Excels functions for
summarizing accounting, production, and management information. Learn formulas and
techniques needed to build dashboard programs.

Copyright 2010

Tommy Harrington

Excel functions can be more powerful than macros. Every user needs to know the five
essential functions of Excel and should be able to use them without hesitation. These
functions are SUM, IF, VLOOKUP, SUMIF, and COUNTIF. If you add to these functions
several other functions that enable you to manipulate dates and text entries, then you
have mastered Excels most valuable functions.

SUM Function
Everyone knows how to use the SUM functionRight? Maybe. Lets look at using the
AutoSum button and what it can do for us.
You can use the AutoSum button to calculate grand totals from subtotals.
Remember dont have blank rows in the area of your worksheet where you want an
automatic grand total.

1. Double click the AutoSum

button at cells B7, B10, and B14 to produce subtotals

2. Highlight cell B15

3. Double click the AutoSum

button for the grand total shown

Instead of clicking the AutoSum button

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, you can also press ALT+= (equal sign).

Tommy Harrington

IF Function
The IF function is possibility the most powerful function in Excel. Lets look at one
example. When you write a formula that divides by a cell that could contain zero, use the
following method.
Use the IF function to test the divisor for zero.
If this cell is zero, you can have the IF function enter a 0 or blank as shown.

To eliminate #DIV/0! error from formulas in a worksheet:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Click on cell D5
Type =if(
Click on cell B5
Type =0,0,
Click on cell C5
Type /
Click on cell B5
Type ) or press Enter

9. Double click on the AutoFill handle

to copy it from D5 through D8

If you want the cell to be blank rather than show 0, replace Step 4 as shown below:
4. Type =0,,

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Tommy Harrington

SUMIF and COUNTIF

The SUMIF function adds the cells specified by a given criteria. I like to remember the
layout for the formula as:
SUMIF(where column, what cell, which column)
The where column is the range of cells you want evaluated; usually the entire column
you wish to search.
The what cell is the criteria in the form of a number, expression, or text that defines which
cells will be added. For example, criteria can be expressed as 32, "32", ">32", "apples",
but is normally a reference to another cell that contains the criteria.
The which column is the column matching the where column that actually the numbers
to be added. The cells in which column are summed only if their corresponding cells in
the where column match the criteria. The which column is usually a column containing
quantity or dollars.
To count the number of occurrences of a string of text or a number within a range of cells,
use the COUNTIF function.
Syntax: COUNTIF(where column, what cell)
The where column is the range of cells in which you want to count certain cells. The
what cell contains the criteria in the form of a number, expression, or text that defines
which cells will be counted. With the COUNTIF function no which column is needed
since, if a match is found, it is counted.
If the following items were typed in a spreadsheet,

The formula in cell F2 which summarizes units sold is written and copied as shown below;
1.
2.
3.
4.

Click on cell F2
Type =sumif(
Paint cells in column A which could contain the word Acme
Press the function key F4 making the range absolute (when copied it will not
change)

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Tommy Harrington

5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Type a comma
Click on cell E2 which contain the word to find
Type a comma
Paint the cells in column C containing the units to be added if a match is found
If formula is to be copied across, press the function key F4 making the range
absolute (when copied it will not change)
10. Press ENTER to close the parenthesis and enter the formula
11. Double-click on the AUTOFILL handle to copy the formula down beside the
other customer names
Move to cell F6 and repeat the steps above to summarize for Products.

The only difference in the formula in cell F6 is that column B is painted instead of column A
since this column contains the product names being summarized. You should always
paint the entire column to allow for information that will be added later.
Control report order with SUMIF
Like many functions in Excel, SUMIF has another use not normally thought of. You can
use SUMIF to place dollar amounts or items associated with GL accounts or product
names in a special order for reporting. SUMIF can be used in this very special way to
control the order of a report.

In the worksheet shown above:

1. Click on cell F2
2. Type =sumif(
3. Paint cells in column A which could contain the GL Account numbers
4. Type a comma
5. Click on cell E2 which contain the GL Account balance to be placed here in the
report
6. Type a comma
7. Paint the cells in column B containing the Account Balance to be used when a
match is found (Since GL Accounts are listed only once, sumif adds only the
one balance amount)
8. Press ENTER to close the parenthesis and enter the formula
9. Use copy and paste to place formula beside each account number
10. Add section totals and grand total
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Tommy Harrington

VLOOKUP Function
The VLOOKUP function does a great deal of work for us in Excel. Its the function that
turns Excel into a relational database program. If you have information in two lists and the
information in one is needed in the other, VLOOKUP is the tool to use. Product names
from one table can be matched with sales data in another table which has only product
numbers. Client names can be placed in a list that has only client number with VLOOKUP.
If you highlight entire columns for your lookup table, in most cases you do not need to do
anything special with these ranges. We normally copy VLOOKUP formulas down columns
and in that case the formula will always work correctly without making the ranges absolute
(adding dollar signs).
If possible, always place your lookup table on another sheet, not on the same sheet where
the VLOOKUP formulas will be written.
As an example, look at the worksheet below:

We need to add Dept Names to this list with VLOOKUP.

On another sheet in this same workbook we have our lookup table.

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Tommy Harrington

We do not have to worry with absolute and mixed references if we paint entire columns in
out lookup table and our formula is only to be copied down a column.
1. On the Data sheet in cell I2, begin typing your formula with =VLOOKUP(
to start your formula

2. Next click on or move to cell C2 in order to show Excel the value to be looked up
for this row
3. IMPORTANT now type a comma (,)
(This locks in your lookup cell)

4. Now click on the sheet tab for your table DeptList

5. Place cursor on letter A for column A, hold down the regular mouse button, and
drag across to column letter B
(This will highlight both columns in your lookup table)

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6. IMPORTANT now type another comma (,)

(This locks in your table)
7. Type ,2,false)
and press Enter
The 2 in the VLOOKUP function indicates the second column (Full Department
Name column) in the lookup table.
The word false tells Excel to always return an exact match ONLY or to indicate that
no match was found by displaying #N/A

We almost always add the word FALSE to the end of every VLOOKUP function.

Since this leaves the formula range painted, simply drag or double-click the AutoFill handle
to copy the formula down column I as needed.

Advanced Shortcuts
There are a couple of advanced shortcuts that any users should know and use
automatically. They are double-click the AutoFill handle and the Repeat key.

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Tommy Harrington

Double click to AutoFill a range

When a cell or group of cells is highlighted, the bottom or right-most cell has a small black
square on the bottom right corner. You use AutoFill normally by dragging this handle to
other cells. AutoFill repeats patterns, fills from custom lists, or copies.

By double clicking the AutoFill handle you can copy a formula or other information into all
adjacent cells in a range. If you have numbers in cells A1 through B10, then you write the
formula, =A1+B1, in C1, this formula can be copied from C1 through C10 by simply
double clicking the AutoFill handle on cell C1.
After double clicking the AutoFill handle, the formula is copied through cell C10.

Repeat Key
Function key F4, the repeat key, can sometimes be used to help you do jobs that must be
done over and over in Excel. First you must perform the action that you wish to repeat,
then, after moving to a new location in your worksheet, you can press F4 to repeat the
same action.

Replace formulas with their values

With a command you can change the results of a group of formulas into their look-alike
value.
Sometimes it is necessary to replace a group of cells containing formulas with the
equivalent values; this can be done by first painting the range then click Copy or do Ctrl+C.
Next leave the same area painted and click Paste Special from the Edit menu. Mark
Values and click OK.

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This could be performed on simple or complicated formulas. However there is another

very unique use for this technique. If you have names in a worksheet which were entered
in upper case, replace values and the PROPER function can change this in a hurry,.
Consider the following information:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Click on cell B1
Type =PROPER(
Press the Left arrow on your keyboard one time
Type )
Press Enter
Make sure you are still on cell B1

7. Double click the AutoFill handle

on cell B1 to copy the formula down
through cell B9
8. Notice that after AutoFill the range is still painted
9. Do Copy (Select Copy from the Edit menu, click the Copy button on the toolbar or
press Ctrl+C)
10. Click on cell A1
11. Select Paste Special from the Edit menu
12. In the Paste section click Values

13. Click OK

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14. Now paint B1 through B9 and press the Delete key

When values are pasted, the supporting formulas in the copy range are no longer needed
in the case.

Functions for Dates

Dates can be entered in an Excel cell in many different ways:
10/1/2010
Oct 1, 2010
October 1, 2010
01 OCT 2010
These are all acceptable ways to enter the same date in Excel. You need to master the
date functions in order to make your work flexible when working with dates.

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In cells A1, A2, and A3 above each of these entries is the same to Excel; all are valid
entries for 10/1/2010. Using the DATE function with YEAR, MONTH & DAY functions, we
can write formulas to have Excel create dates that are the same as real dates.

TEXT Functions
This group of functions is needed by almost every Excel users.
LEFT, RIGHT, MID, CONCATENATE, &
The LEFT function returns characters from the left side of a text string, based on the
number of characters you specify.
Syntax : LEFT(text,num_chars)
Text is usually a cell reference that contains the characters you want to extract.
Num_chars specifies the number of characters you want extracted from the LEFT side of
the word or number. Num_chars must be greater than or equal to zero. If num_chars is
greater than the length of text, LEFT returns all of text. If num_chars is omitted, it is
assumed to be 1.
The characters or numbers returned by this function are considered by Excel as text.
The RIGHT function returns characters from the right side of a text string, based on the
number of characters you specify.
Syntax : RIGHT(text,num_chars)

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Text is usually a cell reference that contains the characters you want to extract.
Num_chars specifies the number of characters you want extracted from the RIGHT side of
the word or number. Num_chars must be greater than or equal to zero. If num_chars is
greater than the length of text, RIGHT returns all of text. If num_chars is omitted, it is
assumed to be 1.
The characters or numbers returned by this function are considered by Excel as text.
The MID function returns a specific number of characters from a text string, starting at the
position you specify, based on the number of characters you specify.
Syntax: MID(text,start_num,num_chars)
Text is the text string containing the characters you want to extract.
Start_num is the position of the first character you want to extract in text. The first
character in text has start_num 1, and so on. If start_num is greater than the length of text,
MID returns "" (empty text). If start_num is less than the length of text, but start_num plus
num_chars exceeds the length of text, MID returns the characters up to the end of text. If
start_num is less than 1, MID returns the #VALUE! error value.
Num_chars specifies the number of characters you want MID to return from text. If
num_chars is negative, MID returns the #VALUE! error value.
Some accounting programs display negative values with the negative sign () to the right
of the value. If you import a file created in a program that stores negative values in this
way, Microsoft Excel might import the values as text. To convert the text strings to values,
you must return all of the characters of the text string except the rightmost character (the
negation sign), and then multiply the result by 1. For the num_chars argument, use the
LEN worksheet function to count the number of characters in the text string, and then
subtract 1. For example, if the value in cell A2 is "156" the following formula converts the
text to the value 156:
LEFT(A2,LEN(A2)1)*1 equals 156
The CONCATENATE function adds words or numbers together to from new words or
phrases.
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Important: We never use CONCATENATE since the "&" operator can be used instead of
CONCATENATE to join text items or numbers.
=CONCATENATE("Total", " ", "Value") equals "Total Value".
Since CONCATENATE only allows a limited number of items, you would do better to use
the & to do concatenation.
It would be better to type ="Total"&" "&"Value"

FIND and LEN

The FIND function finds one text string (find_text) within another text string (within_text),
and returns the number of the starting position of find_text, from the first character of
within_text. You can also use SEARCH to find one text string within another, but unlike
SEARCH, FIND is case sensitive and doesn't allow wildcard characters.
Syntax: FIND(find_text,within_text,start_num)
Find_text is the text you want to find. Find_text cannot contain any wildcard characters.
Within_text is the text containing the text you want to find.
Start_num specifies the character at which to start the search. The first character in
within_text is character number 1.
If find_text does not appear in within_text, FIND return the #VALUE! error value.
If start_num is not greater than zero, FIND return the #VALUE! error value.
If start_num is greater than the length of within_text, FIND and FINDB return the #VALUE!
error value.
The LEN function returns the number of characters in a text string.
Syntax: LEN(text)

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Text is the text whose length you want to find. Spaces count as characters.
Text to Columns can sometimes do the same job as string math when it comes to placing
separate parts of a string in individual columns

TEXT
The TEXT function converts a value to text in a specific number format and is usually used
with the & operator to add text to dates in a specific format.
Syntax: TEXT(value,format_text)
Value is a numeric value, a formula that evaluates to a numeric value, or a reference to a
cell containing a numeric value.
Format_text is a number format in text form from in the Category box on the Number tab in
the Format Cells dialog box. Format_text cannot contain an asterisk (*) and cannot be the
General number format.
To display the column heading Quantity on Hand as of June 30, 2010 with the date
based on a date typed in cell A1, you could write this formula in the column heading cell.
=Quantity on Hand as of &TEXT(A1,mmmm d, yyyy)
Even if the date in cell A1 were typed and shown as 6/30/02 the column heading would
still display Quantity on Hand as of June 30, 2002
The TEXT function can be used to show leading zeros on part numbers or customer
numbers. Example: a number in a cell is 543; this number should be displayed as
0000543. If the number is in cell A2 then enter the following function in cell b2
=TEXT(A2, 000000)
Cell B2 now displays 000543 and can be convert to the actual entry by using Paste
Special Values.

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If your organization needs training, application development, or consulting on Microsoft

Office softwareExcel, Access, Word, and PowerPoint; for free estimate on any project
please contact:
Tommy Harrington
Email: tommy@tommyharrington.com
Notes:

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Tommy Harrington