Learning Outcomes Create complex formulas Utilize advanced (conditional) formatting Create and customize graphical displays Table of Contents Excel 2007 Intermediate Documentation The Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning Teaching & Learning Resources Formulas... 2 Basic Formulas... 2 Conditional Operators... 2 Advanced Formulas... 4 Nested IF... 4 Combined IF/AND... 5 RANK... 5 CONCATENATE... 6 COUNT... 6 Named Cells... 7 Formula auditing... 8 Tracing precedents and dependents... 8 Trace precedent... 9 Sorting data... 10 Conditional formatting... 11 Graphs and Charts... 13 1
Formulas A formula is a sequence of values, cell references, names, functions, or operators in a cell that together produce a new value. A formula always begins with an equal sign (=). You can create a simple formula by using constants (numbers) and calculation operators (such as addition or multiplication). For example, the formula =5+2*3, multiplies two constants and then adds a number to the result. Note: Microsoft Office Excel follows the standard order of mathematical operations. You can also create a formula by using a function. For example, the formulas =SUM(A1:A2) and SUM(A1,A2) both use the SUM function to add the values in cells A1 and A2. Depending on the type of formula that you create, a formula can contain any or all of these parts. Basic Formulas Conditional Operators In addition to using arithmetic operators in your formulas, you can also use conditional operators to create logical functions. These functions allow you to set up a logical test which determines the output value. These formulas generally use the operators IF, AND, OR and NOT. For example, the IF function uses the following arguments: logical_test: The condition that you want to check. value_if_true: The value to return if the condition is True. value_if_false: The value to return if the condition is False. Example: In the image below, the logical test is whether the student s grade is greater than 75. If it is (in other words, the test is true), then the cell will display Pass. If it is false (less than 75), the value will be displayed as Fail. 2
Note: If you want the formula to display a text value, such as Pass or Fail or A, B, C, D, etc, you must put that text value in quotation marks in the formula. Similarly, you can use other operators in logical functions. The operator AND returns TRUE if all of the arguments are TRUE. Example: In the image below, both test grades have to be over 75 for the value in column D to be True. The operator OR returns TRUE if any of the arguments are true. Example: In the image below, if any of the test grades are above 75 then the value in column D will be TRUE. If none of them are, the value will be reflected as FALSE. 3
The operator NOT reverses the logic of its argument. Example: Advanced Formulas Nested IF Excel can also use multiple formulas in the same cell. For instance, you can nest multiple IF statements in one strand of logical tests. Example: In the image below, letter grades are calculated based on the average final grade for each student and on a grade scale. The nested IF formula follows the same template as before, however, in the place of the value if false argument, you start the next IF statement instead. Note: You may put up to 64 nested IF statements in one formula. 4
Combined IF/AND This formula allows you to combine the features of the IF and AND formulas to specify an outcome. The formula setup is: =IF(AND(logical_test_1, logical_test_2 ), value_if_true, value_if_false)) Example: The formula below essentially requires that all three grades test 1, test 2 and the final grade be above 75 in order for the student to pass. If any one of the values is below 75, the student receives a Fail. RANK This function returns the rank of a number amongst a list of numbers. It does not reorder the cells, rather it tells you where a particular value falls in a ranking of a specified range of values. Example: The formula below ranks the final grades in descending order. The formula is specified as: =RANK(cell, range, count by) 5
Note: The range is an absolute reference (see Excel Beginner) so that as you copy the formula down it does not change relative to the cell position. CONCATENATE The CONCATENATE function joins up to 255 text strings into one text string. The joined items can be text, numbers, cell references, or a combination of those items. For example, if your worksheet contains a person's first name in cell A1 and the person's last name in cell B1, you can combine the two values in another cell by using the following formula: =CONCATENATE(A1," ",B1) The second argument in this example (" ") is a space character. You must specify any spaces or punctuation that you want to appear in the results as an argument that is enclosed in quotation marks. Example: COUNT The COUNT function counts the number of cells that contain numbers, and counts numbers within the list of arguments. Use the COUNT function to get the number of entries in a number field that is in a range or array of numbers. For example, you can enter the following formula to count the numbers in the range A1:A20: =COUNT(A1:A20) 6
Example: Named Cells Formulas in Excel can become difficult to interpret, especially if you ve inherited a spreadsheet from a coworker or if the formulas are complex and long. One way to get around this is to give certain cell(s) names. A name is a meaningful shorthand that makes it easier to understand the purpose of a cell reference, constant, formula, or table, each of which may be difficult to comprehend at first glance. Example: A formula such as =SUM(A2:C32), which has no meaning can be transformed into =SUM(FirstQuarterSales) by assigning that name to the given cell range. To name a cell, formula or cell range, first select the area you would like to name. (Note that the cells do not have to be adjacent). Then, in the box to the left of the formula bar, type in a name of no more than 255 characters and click enter. 7
Now, instead of referring to that cell range in your formulas, you can refer to the name you assigned to that range. Formula auditing Tracing precedents and dependents Sometimes, checking formulas for accuracy or finding the source of an error can be difficult when the formula uses precedent or dependent cells. A precedent cell is a cell that is referred to by a formula in another cell. Dependent cells contain formulas that refer to other cells. For example, if cell D10 contains the formula =B5, cell D10 is a dependent of cell B5 and cell B5 is a precedent to cell D10. To assist you in checking your formulas, you can use the Trace Precedents and Trace Dependents commands to graphically display, or trace the relationships between these cells and formulas with tracer arrows. First, click the Microsoft Office button and then Excel Options. 8
Then, click on the Advanced button. Under the area, Display Options for this Workbook, make sure All is selected under For Objects, Show:. Click OK. Trace precedent To trace cells that provide data to a formula, first select the cell that contains the formula. Then, in the Formula tab, click Trace Precedents. A tracer arrow will appear connecting the cells that provide data with the active cell. 9
Note: Blue arrows indicate no errors with the formula. Red arrows indicate that there is an error. To remove the arrows, click Remove Arrows. Trace dependent To trace formulas that reference a particular cell, first click on the cell. Then, click on Trace Dependents under the Formulas tab. The tracer arrows will indicate the cell that is dependent on your selected cell for its formula. Sorting data Sorting data is an integral part of analyzing and organizing your information. For instance, if you have a listing of names and addresses, you may want to sort by the resident s last name, or perhaps by zip code. In Excel, you can sort text, numbers, dates and other forms of information. To sort data, regardless of the form, the first step is to select the entire range of data you want to sort. It is important to include all of the data so that all of the data sorts together. On the home tab, click the Sort & Filter button. You can sort in ascending (A-Z) or descending (Z-A) order. Example: 10
You can also choose to do a custom sort in which you can have multiple layers of organization. This may be helpful if, for example, you wish to sort first by last name and then by zip code. To do so, select the entire range of data you wish to sort. Click the Sort & Filter button again, but this time select Custom Sort. In the pull-down menu, select which column you want to sort by and in what direction. To add another level, simply click the Add Level button. Conditional formatting Conditional formatting alters the appearance of your data dependent on a set of rules that you designate. It is an easy way to visually signify trends or outliers. 11
First, select the cell(s) you wish to apply the rules to. Then, on the home tab, select Conditional Formatting. There are many options for applying the conditional formatting, but one simple way is to select Highlight Cell Rules. If you wish for the formatting to apply to values greater than a specific number, select Greater than. In the box that pops up, type in a value. Values greater than (or less than, depending on which option you chose) will display the conditional formatting. In the pull-down menu you can choose which formatting to apply to values that obey your rules. If you do not like the choices, you can also choose Custom Format and create a formatting style of your own. When you are finished, click OK. 12
The result is that the conditional formatting highlights the values that correspond to the rule you just created. In our example, all values greater than 92 are formatted as red. Graphs and Charts Charts are used to display series of numeric data in a graphical format to make it easier to understand large quantities of data and the relationship between different series of data. Microsoft Excel 2007 no longer has the chart wizard present in 2003. Instead, it allows you to edit all parts of your chart easily from the menu ribbon. To create a chart in excel, first select the range of data you would like to include in the graph. Then, on the Insert ribbon, select the type of chart you prefer. 13
The type of chart you select should be appropriate for the type of data you are using. For instance, a column chart (as selected below) may be the most appropriate if you have multiple rows and columns of data you would like to compare. A pie chart may be more effective if you are displaying portions or percentages of a larger total. Once your chart has been inserted, three new menus will appear on the ribbon under Chart Tools: Design, Layout and Format. Each area has all of the relevant options available for modifying your chart. Under the Design menu, you can alter the type of chart or the data included. You may also modify the style and color scheme of your chart. 14
To modify the data you ve selected, click Select Data. A box will appear with the currently selected data listed. To edit any of the series, click on one and then select Edit. Another box will appear that will let you select the cell(s) pertaining to the series name and values. In the Series Name box, type the cell that contains the label for that series, or click the Go to Spreadsheet icon and click on the cell in the spreadsheet. Do this for each series in the spreadsheet. 15
Under the Layout tab, you can modify each of the areas that make up the chart. For instance, you can add a chart title, label your axes, create a legend, alter the scale of your axes and more. The format tab contains the buttons to change the appearance of the chart are and text. As you edit your chart, always keep in mind your audience and the medium of presentation. Readability is key as the main point of creating a visual representation of your data is to ease interpretation. Therefore, be cautious when applying formatting just because you can change a color or a font, doesn t mean you should. Finally, always label your axes and charts! For more information on how to use Excel, visit http://office.microsoft.com/enus/excel/default.aspx. Please evaluate your instructor at http://www.american.edu/cte/training_links.htm#. The link is located under Training Calendar. 16