Microsoft Excel: Fun with Functions. J. Dee Itri, Excel Maze. â Cell referencing. â Row numbers and column letters (
Microsoft Excel Fun with Functions
J. Dee Itri Excel Maze
Course Overview ● Foundational Excel concepts ● Examples of basic functions ● Features in Excel that support functions
Foundational Excel concepts
Microsoft Excel: Fun with Functions J. Dee Itri, Excel Maze
Foundational Excel concepts ● What is a formula? ○ A formula is statement written by the user to perform a calculation. A formula can contain values, references to cells, defined names, and functions. ● What is a function? ○ A function is a built-in operation designed to calculate specific values based on arguments, and are used inside formulas. ● Both terms are often used interchangeably
Microsoft Excel: Fun with Functions J. Dee Itri, Excel Maze
Foundational Excel concepts ● Cell referencing ○ Row numbers and column letters (E7, G4, BZ12) ○ =5+5 vs =A1+A2 ○ Ranges (A:A, 1:4, A5:B14) ● The great and powerful “$” sign ○ Relative (B5) ○ Absolute ($B$5) ○ Mixed ($B5 or B$5) ● Let’s take a look
Microsoft Excel: Fun with Functions J. Dee Itri, Excel Maze
Foundational Excel concepts ● Operators ○ Arithmetic + +, -, *, /, %, ^ + Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally + Parenthesis, Exponent, Multiply, Divide, Add, Subtract ○ Comparison + =, , =, + Sometimes within quotation marks, sometimes not (>50 | “>50” | “>”&C2)
Examples of basic functions
Microsoft Excel: Fun with Functions J. Dee Itri, Excel Maze
Examples of basic functions ● Sum ● Trim ● Concatenate ● If ● Len ● Let’s take a look
Microsoft Excel: Fun with Functions J. Dee Itri, Excel Maze
Examples of basic functions recap ● Sum - Add cell values ● Trim - Remove extra spaces from text ● Concatenate - Combine text together ● If - Perform logical tests and return values based on the results ● Len - Calculate the number of characters in a cell
Features in Excel that support functions
Microsoft Excel: Fun with Functions J. Dee Itri, Excel Maze
Features in Excel that support functions ● Finding functions ● Formula builder ● Evaluate formula ● F9 ● Precedents ● Dependents ● Let’s take a look
Microsoft Excel: Fun with Functions J. Dee Itri, Excel Maze
Features in Excel recap ● Finding functions - Dropdowns on left-hand side of Formula ribbon ● Formula builder - Step-by-step creation of a function with its arguments ● Evaluate formula - Walkthrough of each component’s calculation ● F9 - Quick evaluation of parts of a formula ● Precedents - View which cells are used in a formula ● Dependents - View which cells use the active cell in their formulas
What did I learn during this presentation?
Microsoft Excel: Fun with Functions J. Dee Itri, Excel Maze
What did I learn during this presentation? ● Foundational Excel concepts - Function vs formula, references, & operators ● Examples of basic functions - Sum, Trim, Concatenate, If, Len ● Features in Excel that support functions - Finding, building, tracing, & evaluating
Thank you!
INSTRUCTOR
J. Dee Itri, CPA Excel Maze J. Dee Itri is the CEO of Excel Maze, a website dedicated to teaching Excel skills through games. Before creating Excel Maze, he worked for over seven years as a tax professional for multiple firms, including Ernst & Young, Andersen Tax, and Grant Thornton. He spent the majority of his career developing Excel spreadsheets used throughout the firms for which he worked. Itri holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and a Master of Accountancy in Tax from Brigham Young University. He also currently works as a product manager at Canopy.
