Entering a formula in the worksheet
You enter a formula in a cell much as you enter any data. Building your worksheet provides basic information about entering and editing data. More power with formulas describes all the basic parts of a formula and the different types of formulas.
- Click the cell where you want to enter the formula.
- Type + to start the formula.
- Enter operands, operators, and parentheses as needed.
When referring to data in a formula, type the name or address of the cell or range that contains the data; for example, +A6-B3.
- When the formula is complete, press ENTER.
- (Optional) If your spreadsheet displays *** (asterisks), widen the column.
After you enter a formula in a cell, your spreadsheet displays the formula's result in the cell. To see the actual formula, look in the contents box at the top of the worksheet. If the formula results in ERR, or your spreadsheet does not accept the formula, check for common errors.
Guidelines for entering formulas
Use these guidelines when entering a formula:
- Formulas can be up to 512 bytes in length.
- A formula can begin with a number or one of these characters: +, -, (, @, ., $, or #.
- When the first element of a formula is a cell address or range name, begin the formula with +, -, (, or $.
- When the first character in a text formula is a " (quotation mark), begin the formula with ( or +.
- When a formula looks like a date (for example, 9/25/90), begin the formula with +.
- To enter an @function in a formula, you can click it in the Range Formula menu.
- If you reference blank cells in a formula or @function, your spreadsheet assigns the value 0 to these blank cells, except when you use @AVG or @SUM. These @functions ignore blank cells.
See also
More power with @functions
When and how formulas recalculate
Controlling how a formula refers to data
Editing a formula
Entering a range address in a formula
Entering a range name in a formula
Copying a formula
Moving a formula