Top 5 Most Used Excel Functions
When using Excel, functions can help you optimize and streamline a lot of your daily work tasks. Below I will go over the top 5 most used functions in Excel and explain what they do, so that you can begin using them.
SUM Function
The SUM Function in Excel is a mathematical function that allows you to add up a range of numbers. This function will take all those inputs, up to 255 arguments, and return the total sum.
Syntax: =SUM(number1, [number2], …)
number1, number2, ...: These are the numbers or ranges that you want to add together.
For examples please visit: https://www.datatrailmix.com/excel-sum-function
AVERAGE Function
The AVERAGE Function in Excel is a mathematical function that allows you to average up a range of numbers. This function will take all those inputs, up to 255 arguments, and return the average (mean).
Syntax: =AVERAGE(number1, [number2], …)
number1, number2, ...: These are the numbers or ranges for which you want to calculate the average.
For examples please visit: https://www.datatrailmix.com/excel-average-function
VLOOKUP Function
The VLOOKUP Function in Excel is short for “Vertical Lookup” Function and is categorized as a lookup and reference function. This function allows you to search for a specific value in the first column of a range (table or array) and then return a corresponding value from a specified column within that range.
Syntax: =VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])
lookup_value: The value to search for in the first column of the table.
table_array: The range of cells that contains the data. It should include the column with the lookup_value and the columns containing the data to be searched.
col_index_num: The column number in the table_array from which to retrieve the value.
[range_lookup]: An optional argument. If TRUE or omitted, VLOOKUP will find an approximate match. If FALSE, it will find an exact match.
For examples please visit: https://www.datatrailmix.com/excel-vlookup-function
IF Function
The IF Function in Excel is a logical function that allows you to check if a certain condition has been met and let’s you input what the output should be if condition is TRUE and if the condition is FALSE.
Syntax: =IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false)
logical_test: The condition or criteria that you want to evaluate.
value_if_true: The value that is returned if the logical_test is true.
value_if_false: The value that is returned if the logical_test is false.
For examples please visit: https://www.datatrailmix.com/excel-if-function
IFERROR Function
The IFERROR Function in Excel is a logical function that allows you to provide an alternative result whenever an error occurs in any of your formulas.
Syntax: =IFERROR(value, value_if_error)
value: The formula or expression that you want to evaluate.
value_if_error: The value to be returned if the value results in an error.
For examples please visit: https://www.datatrailmix.com/excel-iferror-function
