Formula building blocks

A formula is anything you enter into a number cell. You create and edit it in the formula line, and then enter it into the cell by clicking on the Tick button or pressing Return. A formula can be as simple as just a number, or it can be very complex and built using operators, functions, cell references, ranges, arrays, and other types of data.

Here are some examples of formulae:

7+6

B8

A7*15

D20*VAT

SUM(B2:B11)

LOOKUP(A2:A11, MAX(A2:A11))

IF(D12>50, "Yes", "No")

Some of these formulae perform quite simple operations, using the standard mathematical symbols for addition, multiplication and so on. These symbols, when used in a formula, are called operators, because they represent an operation which is carried out on the data.

Other formulae include functions. These are more complex operations, which perform an operation which is often well described by their name.

Other elements which can appear in formulae are cell references, numbers, arrays, external references, and names.