European Computer Driving Licence Module 4 – Spreadsheets Chapter 4.2 - Formulae

Formulae The best part of spreadsheets is formulae which make it possible to perform calculations automatically You can add, subtract, multiply and divide cells All formulae start with an equals sign This tells Excel that you are going to insert a formula as opposed to text or numbers You may find it easier to use the keys on the right hand side of the keyboard to type the symbols! + add - minus * multiply / divide

Selecting Cells Click in the intersection of row and column headers to select all cells Click on a column header to select a column Click on a row header to select a row To select non adjacent cells hold down the Ctrl key whilst you click on cells or column or row headers (the last cell clicked will appear white) When you select a range of cells the first cell will be coloured white, the rest pale blue

Formatting cells To format cells, select the cells you want to format and click on the bold, italics, underline icons To remove formatting, select the cell(s) and click on the icons again to switch them off To see more formatting options, select the cells, select Cells from the Format menu and click on the Font tab

Inserting a border Select the cells you want to apply a border to From the Format menu select Cells (or right click and select Format cells) Click the Border tab First click in the Style section to select a style and/or colour Next click on the border icons to select non-standard borders – the preview will show your choices Click OK

Entering formulae Click where you want the result to appear Type an equal sign Type the first cell reference (eg A2) Press + - * / as appropriate Type the second cell reference (eg A3) Press the Enter key to confirm The result of the formula appears in the spreadsheet The formula is displayed in the formula bar

Automatic Recalculation If you have entered your formula correctly and if you change a number, Excel will recalculate! Don’t insert a space into a cell used in a formula otherwise you will receive an error message #VALUE! Similarly if you try to divide a cell by 0 or an empty cell, #DIV/0! will appear If either of these messages appear, check that your formula points to the right cells and that the cells contain the right information!

Enter formulae by pointing Instead of typing in a formula such as =A2+A3, you can use the mouse to point at the cells in the formula. Click in the cell to contain the formula Type an equals sign Click on cell A2 Type a plus sign Click on cell A3 Press the Enter key to confirm As you click on the cells, notice how Excel inserts the cell reference!

Formatting numbers To format numbers to display to 2 decimal places with a thousands separator, select the cells, right-click in the selection and select Format cells On the Number tab click the checkbox Use 1000 separator (,) Click OK.