Page 40 - Computer Basics - Research

Writing Your Own Formulas.

Notice in the example to the right, we have two sets of
figures that we have added to obtain totals. Cells are
labeled first by the column they are in (in our example,
column A) and then by the line number located at the far
left of the spreadsheet. Cell A1 has been filled with a
value, $123.

The cell labeled A7 is a sum of A1 through A6. The cell
labeled A13 is the sum of A9 through A12. If you want to
total those two sums, you can click on a new cell and type
in the formula: =A7 + A13. Notice the program will
highlight A7 in blue and A13 in red, letting you know which
cells you have entered in your formula to add. If you push
the return button, Cell A15 will add A7 and A13 and give
you a total.

Another way of writing this formula is: =SUM(A7, A13).
Notice that a comma separates the two cell names.

Say you want the sum of a consecutive RANGE of cells. Write the formula this way: =Sum(A1:A13). The
difference is that you enter a colon, which tells Excel you want to include all cells in between the first cell and the
last cell.

Examples of Writing Your Own Formulas

For example, cell A3 below contains a formula that adds the value of cell A2 to the value of cell A1. The formula is
located in the formula box marked with an arrow.

Another way of writing the formula is displayed here. Cell A3 below contains the SUM function, which calculates
the sum of the range A1:A2.

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