Datasheet

25
Chapter 1: Tapping into Formula and Function Fundamentals
Figure 1-17:
Getting
ready to
drag the for-
mula down.
Figure 1-18 shows what the worksheet looks like after the fill handle is used
to get the formula into all the cells. This is a real timesaver. Also, you can see
that the formula in each cell of column E correctly references the cells to its
left. This is the intention of using relative referencing. For example, the for-
mula in cell E15 ended up with this formula: =B15 + C15 + D15.
Figure 1-18:
Populating
cells with a
formula by
using the fill
handle.
Assembling formulas the right way
There’s a saying in the computer business: garbage in, garbage out. And that
applies to how formulas are put together. If a formula is constructed the
wrong way, it either returns an incorrect result or an error.
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