Office
Formulas & functions
Overview of formulas in Excel
Get started on how to create formulas and use built-in functions to perform calculations and solve problems.
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Important: The calculated results of formulas and some Excel worksheet functions may differ slightly
between a Windows PC using x86 or x86-64 architecture and a Windows RT PC using ARM architecture.
Learn more about the differences.
Create a formula that refers to values in other cells
1. Select a cell.
2. Type the equal sign =.
Note: Formulas in Excel always begin with the equal sign.
3. Select a cell or type its address in the selected cell.
4. Enter an operator. For example, – for subtraction.
5. Select the next cell, or type its address in the selected cell.
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6. Press Enter. The result of the calculation appears in the cell with the formula.
See a formula
1. When a formula is entered into a cell, it also appears in the Formula bar.
2. To see a formula, select a cell, and it will appear in the formula bar.
Enter a formula that contains a built-in function
1. Select an empty cell.
2. Type an equal sign = and then type a function. For example, =SUM for getting the total sales.
3. Type an opening parenthesis (.
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4. Select the range of cells, and then type a closing parenthesis).
5. Press Enter to get the result.
Download our Formulas tutorial workbook
We've put together a Get started with Formulas workbook that you can download. If you’re new to Excel, or
even if you have some experience with it, you can walk through Excel’s most common formulas in this tour.
With real-world examples and helpful visuals, you’ll be able to Sum, Count, Average, and Vlookup like a pro.
Formulas in-depth
You can browse through the individual sections below to learn more about specific formula elements.
The parts of an Excel formula
Using constants in Excel formulas
Using references in Excel formulas
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Need more help?
You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community, get support in the Answers community, or
suggest a new feature or improvement on Excel User Voice.
See Also
Switch between relative, absolute and mixed references for functions
Using calculation operators in Excel formulas
The order in which Excel performs operations in formulas
Using functions and nested functions in Excel formulas
Define and use names in formulas
Guidelines and examples of array formulas
Delete or remove a formula
How to avoid broken formulas
Find and correct errors in formulas
Excel keyboard shortcuts and function keys
Excel functions (by category)
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In this course:
Overview of formulas in Excel
Article
VLOOKUP
Article
SUM function
Article
COUNTIF function
Article
IF function
Article
IFS
Article
SUMIF
Article
Next: Tables
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