Microsoft Excel—Lesson 4
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Microsoft Excel
Lesson 4
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AutoSum
 When Excel sees a series of numbers, the AutoSum feature can be used to
automatically add them up
 “Select” a cell that immediately follow a series of numbers
 Home  Editing  AutoSum (be careful not to press the AutoSum menu button
() )
 Press <Enter> key
 The sum of the numbers is displayed in the cell but the =SUM function will appear
in the “Formula Bar” when the cell is “selected”
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Formulas
 Formulas start with an equal sign (=) and consist of cell references (names) instead
of the values in cells (as well as arithmetic operators and other values)
 “Select” cell into which a formula will be entered
 Start with an equal sign (=)
 For the values from each cell, type the cell name
 Use arithmetic operators (+, -, *, /) and other values as necessary
 Press <Enter> key when finished
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Using Cell References in Formulas
 It is possible to click cells instead of typing their names when entering a formula
 “Select” cell into which a formula will be entered
 Start with an equal sign (=)
 When a cell name is to be entered into formula, click that cell instead of typing its
name
 Use arithmetic operators (+, -, *, /) and other values as necessary
 Press <Enter> key when finished
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Display Formulas
 The formulas can be viewed in the worksheet by holding <Ctrl> key and pressing
grave accent key (`) found just above the <Tab> key
 Press these keys again to turn off formulas
 Or from the “Ribbon”:
 Formulas  Formula Auditing  Show Formulas
 Click the “Show Formula” button again to turn off formula display
 In either case Excel widens all columns so that the formulas fit
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Page Orientation
 Portrait orientation prints across the narrow edge of the paper
 Landscape orientation prints across the wide edge of the paper
 To change page orientation
 Page Layout  Page Setup  Orientation
 Select “Portrait” or “Landscape”
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Functions
(Page 1)
 In either case Excel widens all columns so that the formulas fit
Microsoft Excel—Lesson 4
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Page Orientation
 Portrait orientation prints across the narrow edge of the paper
 Landscape orientation prints across the wide edge of the paper
 To change page orientation
 Page Layout  Page Setup  Orientation
 Select “Portrait” or “Landscape”
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Functions
(Page 1)
 Built-in “named” formulas that perform calculations or return some predefined
result based upon the values stored in a range of cells
 The AutoSum operation automatically inserts the SUM function into the cell where it
adds up the total for a range of cells
 =SUM(E4:E6)
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Functions
(Page 2)
 Because functions really are formulas they always begin with an equal sign (=)
 That is followed by the function name
 Following inside a set of (parentheses) are what are called arguments (may be one
or more)
 Contain information that is related to the specific type of function
 The argument is often a range of cells
 Format:
 =FUNCTIONNAME(arguments)
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Functions
(Page 3)
 Besides SUM some other common functions are:
 AVERAGE—calculates the arithmetic average for all numbers in range
 MAX—finds the highest number in a range
 MIN—finds the lowest number in a range
 COUNT—counts the number of cells in a range that contain values
 PMT—calculates the monthly payment for a loan
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Named Ranges
 An Excel range is a “collection” of two or more cells
 The “name” of the range begins with the name of the first cell in the range followed
by a colon (:) followed by the name of the last cell in the range
 Some examples:
 A2:A6 (all cells in row A from A2 to A6)
 B3:E6 (all cells in all columns and rows from B3 to E6)
 D:D (the entire column D)
 9:9 (the entire row 9)
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The AVERAGE function
 Calculates the average of a range of numbers
 “Select” cell into which the AVERAGE function will be entered
 Start with an equal sign (=) and then start typing “aver”
 When the AVERAGE function appears in the list of function names, press <TAB>
key
 Type the range name (or “select” it)
 Type a closing parentheses “)”
 Press <Enter> key when finished
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The AVERAGE
function
Microsoft Excel—Lesson
4
 Calculates the average of a range of numbers
 “Select” cell into which the AVERAGE function will be entered
 Start with an equal sign (=) and then start typing “aver”
 When the AVERAGE function appears in the list of function names, press <TAB>
key
 Type the range name (or “select” it)
 Type a closing parentheses “)”
 Press <Enter> key when finished
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Insert Function
 Functions can be inserted from the “Formula Bar”
 Click “Insert Function” icon (fx) on “Formula Bar”
 Select function name from the “Insert Function” dialog window
 In “Function Arguments” dialog box, type range name (or “select” it) in the
Number1 textbox
▪ Or a correct (suggested) range already may be given
 Press <OK> key when finished
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The IF Function
(Page 1)
 The IF function does not necessarily calculate a value but rather:
 Displays one value if a condition is TRUE
 Displays a different value is a condition is FALSE
 The condition is based on Boolean logical and uses the conditional operators:
 = (equal to)
 > (greater than)
 < (less than)
 >= (greater than or equal to)
 <= (less than or equal to)
 <> (not equal to)
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The IF Function
(Page 2)
 For this to work the IF function has three arguments when selecting it from “Insert
Function” dialog box
 Logical_test—this includes one of the conditional operators (=, >, <, >=, <= or
<>) and usually involves a value that exists in another cell
 Value_if_true—value to be displayed in the cell if the Logical_test argument
evaluates to TRUE
 Value_if_false—value to be displayed in the cell if the Logical_test argument
evaluates to FALSE
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