Showing Formulas in R1C1 Notation

This topic will focus on notation or reference style. It determines

how Excel “understands and processes” cell addressing. It uses
notation in the form R1C1 (a style of absolute and relative addressing)
where: R=row, C=column. This is a software-level setting , and it
changes the layout of ALL spreadsheets. 

Notation

For a bit of history, older spreadsheet software handled cell

addressing via R1C1 notation. This simply meant that any cell
address is written as a combination of R(rows) and C(columns) with a
corresponding number. A cell on the fourth row, under the fifth column
will look like this in the Name Box, R4C5.

On the other hand, the environment of Excel is built on the A1

reference style. It is the most commonly used style because it is the
default setting on Excel. This style determines a fixed set of rows and
columns with fixed addresses. Rows are assigned numbers on the
leftmost side of the worksheet; columns are listed with corresponding
letters on the topmost of the worksheet, hence cell addressing like A1
or D4.

How to show formulas in the R1C1 notation: 

1. Click "File", then choose "Options". 

2. Select "Formulas".

3. Under "Working with formulas", put a check on the "R1C1

Reference" style, then click "Ok". 

Auditing Formulas

Formula auditing in excel allows you to track relationships between

cells. 

It provides a visual representation with arrows of data flow and

processes through tracing. Auditors can follow formulas in a forward or
backward manner to determine causes of errors. This is vital in
troubleshooting large and complicated spreadsheets.
Where to find formula auditing: 

These functions are found on the Formula Auditing group.

1. On the ribbon tab select "Formulas".

2. Choose function from "Formula Auditing (group)".

Trace Precedents (ctrl + "[")

Shows the cells related to the selected cell and formula (backward
tracing)

1. Select cell to audit.

2. Select Formulas >

    Formula Auditing(group) > 

    Trace Precedents(button)

Trace Precedents (button)

- An arrow will identify sources (dot) of the data in the active cell
(arrowhead).

- Each click of the "Trace Precedents" button will reveal the previous
step in the data.

Shows where the current cell and formula is used (forward tracing).

1. Select cell to audit

2. Select Formulas > 

     Formula Auditing(group) > 

    Trace Dependents(button)
Trace Dependents(button)

- An arrow will identify succeeding cells (arrowhead) of the data in the

active cell (dot).

- Each click of the "Trace Dependents" button will reveal the next step
further in the data.

Other Functions: 

To remove arrows:

      Select Formulas > Formula Auditing > Remove Arrows

Removes all arrows with one click. Drop-down menu allows for removing
precedent or dependent arrows one by one

To show formula:

      Select Formulas > Formula Auditing > Show Formula

Toggles data displayed in the cell between formula or value

To check error/s:

      Select Formulas > Formula Auditing > Error Checking

Used to check for errors in the whole spreadsheet Also has "Trace Error"
function

To evaluate formula:

      Select Formulas > Formula Auditing > Evaluate Formula

Used to evaluate complex formulas by verifying part by part. Allows user to

step into or out of a formula

Summation Button

The summation button is a single button tool for immediate addition.

Excel automatically creates the formula, =sum() in the selected cells
when the button is clicked. This helps make data processing more
efficient  through mouse clicks or shortcut keys. It allows a more
continuous workflow without having to type in the formula yourself.

There are two ways to do this:

Approach 1: Auto Sum, Select cell

1. Select the blank cell for the data set to be summed.

- Bottom cell for Columns

- Rightmost  cell for Rows

2. Locate and click from:

A. "Home" Ribbon > Editing Tab, or

               B. "Formulas" Ribbon > Function Library

Approach 2: Auto Sum, Range Selection

1. Select the cells with data for summation, plus a blank cell for the result

- Bottom cell for Columns

- Rightmost cell for Rows

2. Locate and click "Auto Sum". 

NOTE: When used on an array with blank cells on the rightmost  and

bottom cell, it will perform across (rows) and downwards (columns). 

HINT: Excel will display a green marker on the top left corner of the result
if the computed range has data adjacent to the selection.
Range Names

This allows name assignments for cells or groups of cells for

referencing.

By using a "Range Name", the data within the range is assigned

to a variable within Excel. The range name can be referenced in any
other part of the spreadsheet for data manipulation.

Naming Rules: 

1. First characters must begin with any of the following: 

Letter

Underscore (_)

Backslash (/)

2. Remaining characters can be: 

Letter

Number

Period

Underscore

3. Not Allowed

A space and most punctuation characters

Similar to cell addresses 

Excel shortcut
 Single letters "R" and "C"

Method 1: Name Box

1. Select cell or cells to be named.

2. Click "name box" on the left of the formula bar.

3. Type in desired name adhering to the naming rules (names are not
case-sensitive).

4. Press "Enter".

5. To rename or change, click the drop down arrow on the name box.

6. Select the range to be renamed.

7. Type in the new name & press "enter".

Method 2: Formula Ribbon

1. On the "Formulas" Ribbon, select "Name Manager". 

2. In "Name Manager" window, click "New".

3. Enter your range name.

4. On the "Name Manager" dialog, click the arrow to minimize. 

5. Left click and drag to select cells. 

6. Confirm selection by clicking on the green check. 

7. To edit range within "Name Manager", select range name then click
the "edit" button. 

To delete: 
 1. Click 'Name Manager" on the formulas tab.

2. Choose name to delete.

3. Click "delete" and "OK". 

NOTE: Deleting the range name does not delete the data in the cells.

Method 3: Header as Automatic Name

1. Select cells; The first cell with header to be the name of the range

2. Follow Method 2.

Moving to the Top of the Sheet

Most Excel users tend to use rather small worksheets, and therefore it is
relatively easy to scroll up to the top of the document just by using the
mouse roller, pressing the UP button, or clicking and dragging the scroll bar
up to the top.

As an aspiring data professional, you will soon contend with extremely large
worksheets. By large, I mean it could be in the tens of thousands, or even
hundreds of thousands of lines. 

Using the roller, UP button or clicking and dragging in this instance will take
too long. Instead of these, you can simply use the Move to the Top of Sheet
command by pressing CTRL + HOME.

Using End-Arrow Key Combinations

End-arrow key combinations allow a user to move or select by sections in a

spreadsheet. One can skip consecutive non-blank cells to reach the last
non-blank cell. One can also skip consecutive blank cells to reach the next
non-blank cell.

How to use end-arrow key combinations: 

1. END + ARROW UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT

If the selected cell is blank, the cursor will go to the next non-blank
cell; or if the selected cell has values, the function will go to the last
non-blank cell.
 2.  SHIFT + END + “ARROW UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT”

If the selected cell is blank, the task will select from initially selected
cell until the next non-blank cell; or if selected cell has values the
function will select from initially selected cell until the last non-blank
cell. 

Go to Option 

In some instances that we may be looking for a particular cell address,

this function makes that easy.

It is accessible through the "Home" Tab found in the ribbon.

Alternately, the dialog box can be made to appear using the keyboard
shortcut CTRL + G.

1. In the "Home" ribbon, select find and select.  

2. Choose "Go to".

3. Then, the "Go to" window will appear.

4. Type in cell reference (e.g  "A1", then press "OK" to jump to the
desired reference.)

Fx Function (Function Wizard [ fx button])

A formula determines the value of a cell.

A function is a predefined formula within Excel that can be repeatedly

used to perform specific actions

The Fx button can be found under "Formulas" >Insert Function.

This helps find a specific function and guide users to the correct
syntax. It provides predictive entry for most functions. Hovering over
the entry displays the syntax, a short description and required input.

Syntax:
 =FUNCTION(input)

Where:  function - must have the correct spelling, no space before or

after

input - any value, cell reference, range or another function

How to use Fx Function: 

1. Select cell where to insert formula.

2. From the insert function window, the user may choose to type or
choose a category to search a function.

3. Choose from the list-- a function guide and what it does will be
shown below.

4. Click “ok”. Then, there will be an equals sign (=) on the selected cell
and window.

5. Finally, the function argument will appear.

6. Type in or click the underlined arrow up to select cell or range

needed.

7. Click underlined arrow down to return.

8. After filling out all the data, click “ok”. If there is an error, a warning
window will appear. Otherwise, the result will appear on the selected
cell.

Sum and Average Functions

Sum and Average functions are the basic operations found in Excel.

These functions allow direct entry of data or referenced cells as input.

It is valuable for accurate and fast computations. Both functions return
a value --  the sum or the average.

SUM() (Sum Function)

 The SUM function sums all numbers in a range of cells.

Method 1: fx Button

1. Select cell where to show result.

2. Choose insert function from formulas ribbon.

3. Search and choose "sum", then click "ok".

4. Select the cells to add, then click “ok”.

Method 2:

1. Select cell where to show result.

2. Type “=SUM(“ (when fx button is clicked, it will show the argument

window)

3. Choose a cell or range of cells by left clicking mouse or dragging for

multiple selection.

4. Type “)”

5. Press "enter".

NOTE: To select multiple cells or range, add comma (,) after cell or
range, or simply press ctrl & select by left clicking or dragging the
mouse.

Syntax (Method 2)

=SUM(range)

Where: SUM - adds all values in the range

range - any value or collection of values: (number, number1,...), or

- a collection of cells: (start_cell:end_cell), (cell, cell1, cell2,...)

Average
 An average shows the arithmetic mean of a selected range of cells.

1. Select cell where to show result.

2. Type “=AVERAGE(”

3. Select a range of cells by left clicking to select individual cells or left

click and dragging the mouse. 

*for multiple cells- press ctrl to select multiple range

4. Close argument by typing ")"

5. Hit "enter".

NOTE: Fx button can also be used to select multiple cells or range, add
comma (,) after cell or range or simply press ctrl & select by left
clicking or dragging the mouse.

Syntax:

=AVERAGE(range)

Where: AVERAGE - gets the average of the values in the range

range - any value or collection of values: (number, number1,...), or

    - a collection of cells: (start_cell:end_cell), (cell, cell1, cell2,...)

COUNT, COUNTA, COUNTBLANK Functions

Counting cells is a tedious process. Even counting ten cells takes time.
Thankfully, there are several functions to facilitate the counting swiftly.

COUNT – used to count cells in a range that contains numbers

COUNTA - used to count non-empty cells in a range 

COUNTBLANK – used to count empty cells in a specified range 

There are several ways of executing the COUNT, COUNTA,

COUNTBLANK Functions: 
Method 1: fx Button

Using the fx button, Excel will give suggestions on how the syntax is

encoded. You can try it for yourself, before we move on.

Method 2: Function Syntax

1. Select cell where to show result. 

2. The function syntax for each are as follows:

=COUNT(range)

=COUNTA(range)

=COUNTBLANK(range)

* Range can be selected via mouse (Click and drag over chosen cells)
or coded in start_cell:end_cell.

           These functions can accept ranges.

3. Type close parenthesis “)”

4. Hit "enter". 

MIN and MAX Functions

These functions return the minimum or maximum values within a

range.

They identify the highest or lowest numerical values within the

selected range. These functions disregard text values, and revert it to
zero if there are no numbers in the range.

MIN function – shows the smallest number in a set of values. This

ignores text and logical values.

MAX function – shows the largest number in a set of values. This

function ignores text and logical values. 

How to use the MIN and MAx functions: 

 1. Select the cell where to show result. 

2. Type “=” followed by the function name, then open parenthesis  “(“ 

3. Select cells or ranges for a set of values. 

NOTE: To select multiple cells or ranges, add comma (,) after the cell
or range, or simple press ctrl and select by left clicking or dragging the
mouse. 

4. Hit "enter". 

IF Function

This is the first conditional function you will encounter in Excel. The IF
function has three parts: the logical test, a replacement value if true,
and a replacement value if false.

It checks whether a condition or criteria is met. If met, it yields "TRUE".

Otherwise, it yields "FALSE".  

The value to show when True or False is optional to the user. The user
can set the number, text, special character, or a combination of the
said values.

These values, aside from the number, should be quoted like in (“RED”).

Syntax: 

FUNCTION =IF(logical text, value if true, value if false)

How to use the IF function:

1. Select the cell for the result.

2. Type “=” followed by “if”, then open parenthesis “(“

3. Type the condition or criteria, then comma (,) 

 4. Pick a value: when criteria is met then comma (,)

5. Pick a value: when criteria is not met; then, close parenthesis “)”

6. Press "enter".

Also, the user is allowed to use the following logical operators:

=  Equal to

˃  Greater than

˃= Greater than or Equal to

˂ Less than

˂= Less than or Equal to

˂˃ Not equal to

Additional Information: 

It is possible to use this function with other functions AND() and OR() to
define a series of nar rowing parameters. This is called a nested if
statement. It will not be covered in this course, but you are
encouraged to read up on it and practice.

VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP Functions

LOOKUP functions are reference functions that use an IF argument as a

logical test.

Vertical or VLOOKUP and horizontal or HLOOKUP use a reference range

to find the corresponding cell (v or h) and returns that value.

HLOOKUP – looks for value in the top row of a table and returns the value in
the same column from a specified row

VLOOKUP – looks for value in the leftmost column of a table and returns a
value in the same row from a specified column

Syntax: 
 hlookup      =HLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, row_index,
range_lookup)

vlookup      =VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index,

range_lookup)

Other important functions: 

lookup_value – the value that the function needs to look for in the
given table

table_array – data where lookup value can be located

row_index – number of rows starting from the top-most row in the

table 

col_index - number of columns starting from left-most column in the

table

range_lookup – 1 or true for approximate match, 2 or false for exact

match

How to use the VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP Functions:   

1. Select the cell where you want to see the result. 

2. Type equals sign“=” followed by the function name

(HLOOKUP/VLOOKUP).

3. Type the LOOKUP value or simply select the cell where it is located,
then type comma “,”

4. Select the table of values, then type comma “,”

5. Type the number of columns for VLOOKUP or row for HLOOKUP. This
is the location where the function will base the result. 

6. Type comma “,”, then type “range_lookup”.

1 or True for approxiamte match

2 or False for exact match

 7. Then, type close parenthesis “)”

8. Hit "enter".

Common Math Functions 

These functions allow the user to perform common mathematical

functions within cells. These include mathematical operations between
cells, simplified data presentation (round) or using mathematical
constants like pi.

A. ROUND – used to round numbers to a specified number of digit

=ROUND(number,num_digits)

How to use the ROUND Function: 

1. Select cell for the result.

2. Type formula “ =ROUND( “

3. Choose cell with a number to ROUND, then put a comma “,”

4. Type the number of digit, then close parenthesis  ")"

5. Hit "enter".

B. RAND – used to return random number greater than or equal to (0) zero
and less than (1) one. 

How to use the RAND Function:

1. Type “ =RAND() “

2. Hit "enter".

C. MOD – used to find the remainder after dividing a number by another

number 

 =MOD(number,divisor)

How to use the MOD Function:

 1. Select cell where to show result.

2. Type “ =MOD( “

3. Select the number to be divided, then put comma “,” 

4. Choose/Type divisor and type clos parenthesis “)“

5. Hit "enter".

D. INT – used to convert a decimal number to a lower integer

=INT(number)  

How to use the INT Function:

1. Select a cell for the result, type“=INT(” 

2. Choose a number to convert, then close parenthesis “)” 

3. Hit "enter".

E. ABS – used to return the absolute value of a given number, without a

sign 

=ABS(number) 

How to use the ABS Function: 

1. Select cell for the result. 

2. Type “=ABS(“ , then choose a number to convert followed by a close

parenthesis  “)”

3. Hit "enter". 

F. SQRT – used to return the square root of a number 

=SQRT(number)  

How to use the SQRT Function: 

 1. Type equals sign followed by “SQRT”, then open parenthesis “(“ 

2. Choose a number, then type close parenthesis “)” 

3. Hit "enter". 

G. LCM – used to show the least common multiple

=LCM(number1,number2 and so on) 

How to use the LCM Function: 

1. Select cell for the result. 

2. Type equals sign “=” followed by “LCM”, the open parenthesis“(“ 

3. Choose cells or range. 

4. Type close parenthesis “)” 

5. Hit "enter". 

H. PI – return of value of pi

=PI() 

How to use the PI Function:

1. Type the function,  “=PI()” , after the equals sign.

2. Hit "enter".  

I. COMBIN – returns a number of combinations for a given number of items 

=COMBIN(number,number_chosen)

How to use the COMBIN Function:

1. Type function, “=COMBIN(“,  after the equals sign. 

2. Choose a number, then type comma  “,” 

 3. Provide a digit, then type a close parenthesis  “)”

4. Hit "enter". 

Other Common Math Functions:

Math Operations

Addition   (+) Plus Sign

Subtraction  (-) Minus Sign

Multiplication (*) Asterisk

Division (/) Forward Slash

Exponential  (^) Caret