In the era of digitization, almost everyone uses an electronic device, be it a laptop, tablet, or desktop, for their personal or business needs. Each electronic device operates with an inbuilt system commonly referred to as an operating system.
Microsoft fulfills a larger need for computer operating systems, while the rest is catered by other providers such as Linux, Mac, etc. Along with the operating system, Microsoft provides an extraordinary group of applications that have all that professionals commonly require.
This group is known as Microsoft Office Suite, consisting of most popularly used applications like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, and much more, needed for day-to-day operations.
Excel is an application in the Microsoft Office suite used to store data, create tables, perform calculations, and create visualization such as plots, graphs, etc. The Datasheet is one of the primary objects of Excel, consisting of unique features, giving it a crown over other competitors.
One of the handy features of the Datasheet is the ability to add formulas to do any kind of calculation quickly. It avoids the requirement of any other device or application for computations. Another major benefit is that one can share his excel documents easily with anyone since almost all computers have excel pre-installed on it.
Why Excel?
Excel is in the form of a Datasheet that anyone can access anywhere at any point in time. No need for papers, pens, pencils, and any other stationery; just a laptop or desktop is enough for one to work in his free time.
Excel is quite user-friendly, with many pre-built functions that make complex operations on data straightforward. Pre-built functions save a lot of time as they are pretty generic and handy for most requirements.
Most sectors such as finance, industrial, banking, government, and local business units use Excel due to its simplicity and user-friendly attributes.
One can work on Excel without extensive training and knowledge of computer systems except for a few cases wherein one needs to do extensive data analysis work and write custom macros. One can simply learn Excel oneself following various online resources and free introductory training.
Basic Formulas of Excel
As we know, one of the significant benefits of Excel is the provision of an interface to perform all mathematical operations for one’s project. One can write simple mathematical formulas and perform various functions to transform the data.
Some of the processes, such as finding maximum/Minimum/Average of data, Summing the data, finding a particular value in data, have prebuilt formulas in Excel known commonly as functions. Here we have listed some basic and essential prebuilt Excel formulas or functions.
Useful Statistical Functions
First and foremost, while analyzing the data or working on data, one may require statistical calculations such as sum, count, minimum, maximum values of data.
In fact, analyzing numerical data often needs a measure of central tendency, a single value representing central position within a data set using mean, median, or mode. Some of the most commonly used statistical functions are as below.
- AVERAGE allows users to calculate an average of the values provided as input.
Syntax : AVERAGE( number1, [number2], … [number_n] )
- SUM is used to add numbers in the selected range.
Syntax : SUM( number1, [number2, … number_n] )
- MIN returns the minimum value in the selected range or numbers.
Syntax : MIN( number1, [number2, … number_n] )
- MAX returns the maximum value in the selected range or numbers.
Syntax : MAX( number1, [number2, … number_n] )
- MODE returns the most frequently occurring numbers in the selected range or numbers.
Syntax : MODE( number1, [number2, … number_n] )
- MEDIAN returns the value of the number located at the middle of the series when sorted in ascending order.
Syntax : MEDIAN( number1, [number2, … number_n] )
- COUNT is used primarily to count the number of cells with numbers.
Syntax : COUNT( argument1, [argument2, … argument_n] )
Common Mathematical Functions
- ABS returns the absolute value of a number.
Syntax : ABS( number )
- COS returns the cosine of an angle.
Syntax : COS( number )
- PI returns the value of pi.
Syntax : PI ( number )
- LOG returns the log of the number.
Syntax : LOG( number, [base] )
Important String Manipulation Functions
- LEFT enables users to extract a substring from the text. Substring consists of characters starting from left to the number of characters entered by the user.
Syntax : LEFT( text, [number_of_characters] )
- RIGHT enables users to extract a substring from the text. Substring consists of characters starting from right to the number of characters entered by the user.
Syntax : RIGHT( text, [number_of_characters] )
- MID extracts a substring from a string (starting at any position).
Syntax : MID( text, start_position, number_of_characters )
- LEN helps users to find out the number of characters in a string.
Syntax : LEN( text )
- TRIM removes the spaces at the start and end of the string or text.
Syntax : TRIM ( text )
Function for Locating Values in Data
- VLOOKUP is an excel function that stands for vertical lookup, and it searches the value you are looking for vertically in the selected range.
Syntax : VLOOKUP( value, table, index_number, [approximate_match] )
- Similar to VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP searches for the given value horizontally in the selected range of cells.
Syntax : HLOOKUP( value, table, index_number, [approximate_match] )
Date/Time Functions
- TODAY returns the current system date, and it refreshes the date at every worksheet recalculation.
Syntax : TODAY()
- NOW provides users with the current date and time. It syncs with your computer’s time and changes along with it.
Syntax : NOW()
Logical Functions
- Returns one value if the condition is TRUE or another value if the condition is FALSE.
Syntax : IF( condition, value_if_true, [value_if_false] )
- Returns TRUE if all conditions are TRUE
Syntax : AND( condition1, [condition2], … )
Conclusion
Excel is a widely used application worldwide; one may find it present in almost every desktop, computer, or laptop near you. It is not an exaggeration to say that anyone working with computers will encounter Excel applications once in their lifetime. It is highly recommended to invest in learning excel and develop skills for effectively using it for one’s needs.
On the other hand, Excel can also be utilized to start understanding data analysis. It is one of the best ways to start your data analysis journey. It represents data in tabular format and lets one visualize the data easily with multiple plot options. One may quickly summarise the data statistically, highlight errors in data.
Excel mixed with one’s skills and creativity can help one achieve something in the shortest possible time and effort. It is a highly beneficial and powerful tool that cannot be overlooked.
