Excel 2013 Formulas

Chapter 21: Creating Megaformulas

In This Chapter

• What is a megaformula, and why would you want to use such a thing?

• How to create a megaformula

• Examples of megaformulas

• Pros and cons of using megaformulas

This chapter describes a useful technique that combines several formulas into a single formula — what I call a “megaformula.” This technique can eliminate intermediate formulas and may even speed up recalculation. The downside, as you'll see, is that the resulting formula is virtually incomprehensible and may be impossible to edit.

What Is a Megaformula?

Often, a worksheet may require intermediate formulas to produce a desired result. In other words, a formula may depend on other formulas, which in turn depend on other formulas. After you get all these formulas working correctly, you often can eliminate the intermediate formulas and create a single (and more complex) formula. For lack of a better term, I call such a formula a “megaformula.”

What are the advantages of employing megaformulas? They use fewer cells (less clutter), and recalculation may be faster. And, you can impress people in the know with your formula-building abilities. The disadvantages? The formula probably will be impossible to decipher or modify, even by the person who created it.

I use the techniques described in this chapter to create many of the complex formulas presented elsewhere in this book. ...