Absolute Beginners Guide to Microsoft Office Excel 2003

Chapter 6. Automating Calculations with Formulas and Functions

In this chapter

• Understanding the order in which Excel performs calculations.

• Entering and editing formulas using the point-and-click technique.

• Determining totals quickly with AutoSum.

• Inserting functions to perform complex calculations.

• Troubleshooting calculations in formulas.

• Playing "What If?" with formulas and functions by experimenting with values.

Although an Excel worksheet is ideal for arranging entries in columns and rows, that's not its main purpose. You can do that with a table in a word processing application. What makes a worksheet so powerful is that it can perform calculations using various values from the worksheet and values you supply. In addition, you can set up unlimited scenarios for your worksheet that supply different numbers in the calculations, enabling you to play "What if...?" with various sets of numbers ! In this chapter, you learn how to unleash the power of Excel's formulas, functions, and other calculation tools.