Datasheet

29
Chapter 1: Tapping into Formula and Function Fundamentals
4. Click the first cell with an entered value and, while holding the mouse
button, drag the mouse pointer over the other cells that have values.
An alternative is to enter the range of those cells.
5. Enter a ).
6. Press Enter.
If all went well, your worksheet should look a little bit like ours, in Figure 1-20.
Cell B10 has the calculated result, but look up at the Formula Bar and you can
see the actual function as it was entered.
Figure 1-20:
Entering the
AVERAGE
function.
Formulas and functions are dependent on the cells and ranges to which
they refer. If you change the data in one of the cells, the result returned by
the function updates. You can try this now. In the example you just did with
making an average, click one of the cells with the values and enter a different
number. The returned average changes.
A formula can consist of nothing but a single function — preceded by an equal
sign, of course!
Looking at what goes into a function
Most functions take inputs — called arguments or parameters — that specify
the data the function is to use. Some functions take no arguments, some take
one, and others take many — it all depends on the function. The argument
list is always enclosed in parentheses following the function name. If there’s
more than one argument, they are separated by commas. Look at a few
examples:
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