Formulas are distinguished from regular data by starting with an equals sign (=) as the first character. Everything following this equals sign is evaluated as a formula. Show Alternate Beginnings for Formulas To accommodate those more familiar with Lotus spreadsheets, Gnumeric recognizes the commercial at symbol (@) as the beginning of a formula and substitutes an equals sign. The plus and minus characters (+ and -) may also start formulas that involve calculation, but when used in front of a single number only indicate the sign of the number. The simplest formulas just use the standard math operator and symbols. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are represented by +, -, *, and /, just as you would expect. +,- can be placed in front of numbers to indicate sign, as well. Example 5-1 Examples of standard operators =5+5 returns 10.
=5-4 returns 1.
=-5 returns -5.
=5*5 returns 25.
=(5*5)+11 returns 36.
=(5*5)+(49/7) returns 32.
Formulas can include the displayed data from other cells. These contents are described as `cell references' which are names indicating that the contents of other cells should be used in the calculation. Each cell in a spreadsheet is named by its column and row labels. By default, the column labels are letters and the row labels are numbers. The first cell, therefore, is called A1. One column over and two rows down from cell A1 is the cell B3. In a worksheet of the default size, the right most and bottom most cell is cell IV65536 which is the cell in column IV and in row 65536. An alternative cell reference notation uses numbers for both row and column identification. See Section 5.2.4.3.2 ― References using R1C1 Notation below for details. The value of a cell can be used in a formula simply by entering its name where a number value would otherwise occur. For example, to have the data in cell B1 appear in another cell, enter =B1 into that cell. Other more complex examples include: Example 5-4 Some examples of simple cell reference syntax =A1+EXP(B1)-(C3/C4)
=COS(A2)*SIN(A2)
Cells can be referenced in the default way (relative referencing), or by using absolute referencing. Absolute referencing means that when the cell is copied, the cell reference does not change. Normally, auto-filling a cell range or moving a cell will change its cell reference so that it maintains a relation to the original cell. Absolute referencing prevents these changes. When Does Relative Referencing Make a Difference? The difference between absolute and relative cell references only matters if you are copying or moving cells that contain cell references. For cells that are going to remain in place, both the relative and absolute references have the same result. Example 5-5 Relative References For example, if =A1 is the formula entered into cell B2, cell B2 will display the data in cell A1, which is one row up and one column left. Then, if you copy the contents of B2 to cell F6, cell F6 will contain the value from E5, which is also one row up and one column left. For the copied cell to still refer to A1, specify absolute references using the $ character: $A$1 refers to cell A1, no matter where it is copied. The format for absolute cell referencing is to use a '$' in front of the cell coordinate that you want to stay constant. The column, the row, or both can be held constant. Example 5-6 Cell referencing examples What happens when a given formula is entered into cell B2, then copied to other cells? =A1 =A1 is a normal, or relative, cell reference function. When =A1 is entered into cell B2, it refers to the value of data one cell up and one cell left from the cell with the reference. Therefore, if this formula were copied from cell B2 to cell C2, the value displayed in cell C2 will be the value of data in cell B1. Copied to cell R19, the formula will display the data in cell Q18. =$A1In this case, the column value is absolute, but the row value is relative. Therefore, if =$A1 is entered into cell B2, the formula refers to the data in column A that is one row up from the current location. Copied to cell C2, the formula will refer to the data in cell A1. Copied to cell R19, it will refer to the data in A18. =A$1This formula uses a relative column value and an absolute row value. In cell B2, it refers to cell A1 as the data in the cell one column left and in row 1. Copied to cell C3, the formula will display the data in cell B1. =$A$1No matter where this formula is copied, it will always refer to the data in cell A1. When r and c are positive integers, as in “R1C1”, the reference is absolute. To produce a relative reference, enclose a number in square brackets; if the number is zero, it can be omitted along with the brackets. For example, “RC[-2]” refers to the cell two columns to the left in the current row, while “R[1]C1” refers to the cell in the first column of the next row down from the referencing cell. The second example combines a relative row reference with an absolute column reference. Many functions can take multiple cells as arguments. This can either be a comma separated list, an array, or any combination thereof. A comma separated list of cell references can be used to indicate cells that are discontinuous. Example 5-7 Some examples of function syntax =SUM(A1,B2,C4) =MIN(A1,B2,C4,C5,D6)  For functions that take more than one argument, it is often easier to reference the cells as a group. This can include cells in sets horizontally, vertically, or in arrays. The ':' operator is used to indicate a range of cells. The basic syntax is upper left corner:bottom right corner. Example 5-8 Referencing blocks of cells =SUM(A1:E1) =AVERAGE(B4:E7) =MIN(A1:A5) For referencing cells that are in non-continuous regions, you can use any combination of the above methods to get the needed cells. Example 5-9 Referencing blocks of cells =SUM(A1:E1, B19, L14:L17) =AVERAGE(A1,A3, A5:C5) Example 5-10 Referencing cells in other sheets ='Sheet 0'!A1+'Sheet 3'!A5
=SUM(Sheet1!A1:A5)
It is possible to reference cells in other files. The canonical form for these references is [filename]SHEETNAME!CELLLIST. The square brackets serve to quote filename, so you should use quotation marks only if they are actually part of the file name. Note that the sheet name must be present in references of this form. What type of data can be entered in a cell?Entering data into a cell
The three types of data you can enter into a cell are data, labels and formulas. Data – values, usually numbers but can be letters or a combination of both.
What are the types of data that can be input into a cell in Excel?You can enter data in one cell, in several cells at the same time, or on more than one worksheet at once. The data that you enter can be numbers, text, dates, or times. You can format the data in a variety of ways. And, there are several settings that you can adjust to make data entry easier for you.
What are the three different types of values that can be entered in a cell write one example for each type?You can enter three types of data in a cell: text, numbers, and formulas. Text is any entry that is not a number or formula. Numbers are values used when making calculations. Formulas are mathematical calculations.
What are the two types of text that can be entered in a spreadsheet?Answer. You enter three types of data in cells: labels, values, and formulas. Labels (text) are descriptive pieces of information, such as names, months, or other identifying statistics, and they usually include alphabetic characters. Values (numbers) are generally raw numbers or dates.
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