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Excel QuickSkills

The Equation Bar

Once you have set up your spread sheet and entered information into your cells the information is contained in organized easily referenced cells. The next step is to learn how to manipulate the data in the cells in a useful way.

This is why we have the equation bar. Just as in mathematics an equation instructs the program how to manipulate the numbers step by step until the function is complete.

For example:

In this table of the number of doughnuts sold per day is entered into a column.

The data is stored in each cell shows how many doughnuts were sold on a particular day

What should we do if we need to find the total number of doughnuts sold in the week?

Using an electronic spread sheet like Excel gives us a few time saving options:

Creating a formula,
Using a pre-made function.

Creating a Formula Using The Equation Bar

To find the total we need to add up all the data from each cell.

First click on the cell where you would like the result to appear.

To create and equation we must first put the = sign (equals sign). This tells the program we are writing an equation.

Then open a bracket to show the beginning of the group.

We must be specific about which cells we want to add together so we must reference them directly using the coordinate system.

Close the brackets at the end of the group and press return.

This is a simple and familiar way to add groups of numbers together. But what do we do it there are hundreds or thousands of cells that contain data which needs to be added together to find a total?

Is there a way to automate the process?

The answer is yes. Using functions to perform the task is easier to write and takes far less time to set up when there is allot of data to process.

Using the Pre-made "SUM" Function

Click on the cell where you would like to store the result of the function.
Start with an equals sign ( as always),
Type the word SUM (in capitals),
Then enter the reference coordinate of the first cell at the top of the list. (B3),
Enter a colon :
Write the cell reference for the last cell in the list,
Close the brackets to signify the end of the group and press return.

Using pre-made or predefined functions makes it far easier to keep track of changes or edit complex equations as each function can be treated like an independent building bock. There are many functions available in Excel to make data manipulation easier. Click on Insert > Function to see a list of the different available functions in Excel.