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• · To enter a cell or range reference by pointing
• Place the cursor in the cell where the formula will appear.
• Enter the formula up to the point of the cell or range reference, e.g. to enter the formula =E2+E5, only enter the = sign.
• Using the arrow keys, move the cell pointer to the first cell reference, in this case E2. The formula will track your progress and enter the current address into the formula.
• Enter the operand, + sign.
• Using the arrow keys, move the cell pointer to the second cell reference, in this case E5. If you are calculating a range of cells, hold down the Shift key while using the arrow keys to move to the intended cells.
• Press Enter to complete the formula when you have reached the cell you require.

Excel Function

Functions are special commands used in formulas to perform mathematical processes.

To enter functions directly into the worksheet cell

• Select the cell into which the formula will be entered.
• Insert an equal (=) sign to begin the formula. The formula toolbar buttons will appear.
• Enter the name of the function [e.g. SUM], followed by an opening parenthesis [(], any arguments required for the function [e.g. E2:E5], and closing parenthesis[)].
• Press Enter. If there are no errors in the formula, the result of the function will be entered in the cell. If you activate the cell again, the function will be displayed in the formula bar.

To use the AutoSum function

• The functions can be accessed through the AutoSum icon on the Standard toolbar.
• The functions included in the AutoSum drop-down menu will insert the function and predict the arguments.
• For example, if the active cell is positioned at the bottom of the list of values, AutoSum will display a sum function with the list of the arguments.
  
• Sum — add the contents of the list of arguments.
• Average — determine the average value of the list of arguments.
• Count — count the number of values in the list of arguments.
• Max — return the maximum number in the list of arguments.
• Min — return the minimum number in the list of arguments

  Example: Using the Average function

• Enter the values as shown below from B1 to B5 and select the cell B6 which the formula will be entered.

  

• Click the down arrow beside the AutoSum icon on the Standard toolbar and choose Average from the drop-down menu.
• If the predicted range is correct, press the Enter key. If it is incorrect, select (click and drag) the range you want with the mouse and press the Enter key.
• The result will show in cell B6. You can use the same method to do other functions such as SUM, Max, etc.

  Note: Excel formula and function is one of the most powerful feature in Microsoft Excel. It is important for you to master it.

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Excel Formulas
A formula is a set of mathematical instructions that can be used in Excel to perform calculations. Formals are started in the formula box with an = sign.

There are many elements to and excel formula.

References: The cell or range of cells that you want to use in your calculation
Operators: Symbols (+, -, *, /, etc.) that specify the calculation to be performed
Constants: Numbers or text values that do not change
Functions: Predefined formulas in Excel

To create a basic formula in Excel:

• Select the cell for the formula
• Type = (the equal sign) and the formula
• Click Enter

Calculate with Functions
A function is a built in formula in Excel. A function has a name and arguments (the mathematical function) in parentheses. Common functions in Excel:

Sum: Adds all cells in the argument
Average: Calculates the average of the cells in the argument
Min: Finds the minimum value
Max: Finds the maximum value
Count: Finds the number of cells that contain a numerical value within a range of the argument

To calculate a function:

• Click the cell where you want the function applied
• Click the Insert Function button
• Choose the function
• Click OK

• Complete the Number 1 box with the first cell in the range that you want calculated
• Complete the Number 2 box with the last cell in the range that you want calculated

Function Library
The function library is a large group of functions on the Formula Tab of the Ribbon. These functions include:

AutoSum: Easily calculates the sum of a range
Recently Used: All recently used functions
Financial: Accrued interest, cash flow return rates and additional financial functions
Logical: And, If, True, False, etc.
Text: Text based functions
Date & Time: Functions calculated on date and time
Math & Trig: Mathematical Functions

Relative, Absolute and Mixed References

Calling cells by just their column and row labels (such as “A1″) is called relative referencing. When a formula contains relative referencing and it is copied from one cell to another, Excel does not create an exact copy of the formula. It will change cell addresses relative to the row and column they are moved to. For example, if a simple addition formula in cell C1 “=(A1+B1)” is copied to cell C2, the formula would change to “=(A2+B2)” to reflect the new row. To prevent this change, cells must be called by absolute referencing and this is accomplished by placing dollar signs “$” within the cell addresses in the formula. Continuing the previous example, the formula in cell C1 would read “=($A$1+$B$1)” if the value of cell C2 should be the sum of cells A1 and B1. Both the column and row of both cells are absolute and will not change when copied. Mixed referencing can also be used where only the row OR column fixed. For example, in the formula “=(A$1+$B2)”, the row of cell A1 is fixed and the column of cell B2 is fixed.

Linking Worksheets
You may want to use the value from a cell in another worksheet within the same workbook in a formula. For example, the value of cell A1 in the current worksheet and cell A2 in the second worksheet can be added using the format “sheetname!celladdress”. The formula for this example would be “=A1+Sheet2!A2″ where the value of cell A1 in the current worksheet is added to the value of cell A2 in the worksheet named “Sheet2″.

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