Microsoft Office Excel 2007 for Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide

5. Using Functions in Formulas

Functions

A function is a predefined formula for making a specific kind of calculation. Functions make it quicker and easier to write formulas.

For example, say you need to add up a column of numbers like the one in Figure 1. It’s perfectly acceptable to write a formula using cell references separated by the addition operator (+) like this:

=C4+C5+C6+C7+C8+C9+C10+C11

Figure 1. Using the SUM function makes it easier to add up a column of numbers.

But rather than enter a lengthy formula, you can use the SUM function to add up the same numbers like this:

=SUM(C4:C11)

The SUM function is only one of over 300 functions ...