Making better use of Excel's Functions and Formulas

Making efficient use of Excel's built in functions and formulas can make many every day workbook tasks much easier. Some people never explore further than the SUM function. While it is a useful and versatile function, there are many other functions and formulas in Excel that can be used. To find out more about these functions and formulas, follow the links on this page, or go back to the index to search for individual functions.

For example, how many times have you used the SUM function when you wanted to work out an average? Did you realise that Excel has its own AVERAGE function?

There are many functions in Excel that you may not realise you have a use for. One of those functions is the IF function. The IF function is quite a powerful tool and can be an excellent way to quickly gather the information you need. The IF function is also particularly useful when used as a nested IF function.

If you have explored Excel's functions, you may be familiar with the dreaded error messages: #N/A or #DIV/0!. Well, Excel even has a function to get rid of those error messages! ISERROR, when used in conjunction with other functions is an effective way to create your own error messages to replce Excel's messages.

Take some time to explore Excels functions and formulas - I'm sure you'll find at least one or two functions you could use right away!