Cell Formula
Cells
may contain formulas. A formula
calculates a cell's value through arithmetic calculations with
references
to
other cells as input. Formulas are an essential part of
spreadsheets
.
Cell formulas start with an equal sign "=" followed by an expression of
two operands
and an operator
or a function. For example "=3*B1", where
"3" is constant operand, "*" is the operator and "B1" is a
reference to the value of the column B, row 1.
Alternatively a formula can include a function such as "=AVERAGE(A1:A3)" This formula calculates the arithmetic average of the values in cells A1 to A3
The result of the formula is displayed as the value of the cell in the grid.
The formula itself is only visible in the
formula bar
,
when the cell is selected.
Using Formulas
The following screencasts demonstrate how to use cell formulas in a spreadsheet:
- How to enter a formula for a spreadsheet cell.
- How to calculate the sum of a range of cells.
- How to insert a reference as formula operand.
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