How to use parentheses, square supports and orthopedic devices in Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel formulas can contain a wide range of symbols, such as asterisk

The question sign (?), And the “at” (@) sign. Among the most important are in parentheses, square supports and curly orthopedic devices, and in this guide, I will explain how each of these works.

Parentheses: control the order of operations

The parenthesis, or rounded supports, are used in Excel to define the order in which the calculations are performed.

Upper view of a notebook with an Excel spreadsheet, a calculator, dollar bills and glasses to its side, with the Excel logo in the center.

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At its most basic level, Excel follows the order Pemdas: parentheses, then exponents (also known as indexes), then multiplication and division, and finally, adds and subtracts.

There are also other elements in a formula that Excel has to consider, such as cellular references, percentages and logical operators, but for now, understanding the PEMDA will help you understand the purpose of parentheses.

Since parentheses are the first in this list of operations, they are crucial to ensure that their calculations work as expected.

=10+5*2

For example, writing:

In a cell and pressing enter returns 52, because it multiplies 5 by 2 and then adds 10 to the result.

=(10+5)*2

However, writing:

and pressing Entee returns 30, because first adds 10 and 5 before multiplying the result by 2.

=((A1*B2)+(C3*D4))-E5

In a slightly more complicated example, writing:

Multiply the value in cell A1 by the value in cell B2, then multiply the value in cell C3 by the value in cell D4 before adding the results of these two multiplications. Finally, Excel takes this total and subtracts the value in cell E5.

=XLOOKUP(

The parentheses are also used to mark the first of the arguments of a function. For example, writing:

=XLOOKUP(D2,$A$2:$A$11,$B$2:$B$11)
He tells Excel that he wants to perform a search using the Xlookup function, and the relevant parameters will follow the initial parenthesis. Once you have finished writing the arguments, the formula will complete with a closing parenthesis:

Illustration of a spreadsheet with a magnifying glass next door, a graph at the bottom and Excel logo.

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Outside with the old and the new one.

=IFERROR(SUM(B2/C2),"")
Finally, parentheses are used in the functions of Excel to Nest. In this example, the sum function is nested within the IFERROR function so that if the result returns an error, a blank cell is shown:

The sum function in Excel is nested within the IFERROR function.

Square brackets: references of column headers in tables

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Suppose this table (called Fruit_sales), and your goal is to solve the billing for each element in column F.

An Excel table that contains fruit prices, with the highlighted billing column.

To do this, you must multiply the values ​​in column C (retailer) by the values ​​in column E (unitsold) for each row.

Starting in cell F2, as when you create a formula in a data set without format, write the equal sign (=) and then click on the first cell you want to include in your formula. In this case, it is cell C2. However, observe that as soon as clicking this cell, instead of adding the reference of cell C2 to the formula, Excel places the column header inside the square supports, also known asStructured reference

=[@RetailPrice]
:

The first part of a structured reference with square supports in Excel.

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Use table and column names instead of cell references.

You will also see that a symbol @ has been added (also known as intersection operator) to the structured reference, which means that Excel will treat each row in this column individually, instead of adding all the values ​​in this column together in the formula.

=[@RetailPrice]*[@UnitsSold]
Then add the asterisk

Symbol to create multiplication and click on Cell E2 to insert the second argument. Again, Excel enters a structured reference to the column header:

The second part of a structured reference with square supports in Excel.

When Enter presses, Excel automatically applies the formula to the remaining cells in the column, which saves you the effort to do it manually.

An Excel table that contains structured references in the billing column. Structured references with square supports not only apply to formulas within the table itself. For example, suppose you want to calculate the total billing by adding all the values ​​in column F. while you

could

Add a total row to the bottom of the table, you prefer to have the total at the top of the spreadsheet, so you don’t have to move down to see it.

=SUM(

A cell in Excel will be calculated outside the formatted table where the total billing will be calculated.

In this case, in cell i2, write:

And then walk on the column header until you see a small black arrow. When doing so, click once to select all cells in that column in the table.

=SUM(Fruit_Sales[Turnover]

Take a moment to review the reference that has been added to the formula. Note how, this time, the structured reference with square supports follows the name of the table. This is because the formula is outside the table, so Excel needs to add an additional signal that directs it to the right table:

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What is in a name? Well, enough.

Finally, close the rounded parenthesis to complete the formula and press Enter.

A structured reference in Excel that contains a table name and a column name in square supports.

Curly bras: define matrix formulas and simplify logical arguments

=SORT(A1:A3)

Excel curly brakes are mainly used to return a matrix, instead of a single result.

Some functions in Excel Return Dynamic spilled matrices by default. For example, here, writing:

In the cell, C1 returns a result that begins in the C1 cell and spills to the C2 and C3 cells, as indicated by the blue line surrounding the cells.

The classification function in Excel returns a dynamic and spilled result.

However, you can also use this principle to force a function that does not automatically produce a dynamic matrix to generate more than one result.

Suppose you receive bonus payments on the 20th out of two months, and want to record them on a spreadsheet.

An Excel worksheet with the ‘date’ of the column headers in cell A1 and the ‘bonus payment’ in cell B1.

Instead of writing the dates individually in column A, you can use a dynamic matrix formula with curly orthopedic devices.

Column A is selected in Excel, and ‘date’ is selected in the group of numbers of the Start tab.

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=DATE(2025,{2;4;6;8;10;12},20)

Adjust the number of your cells to match your data type. Then, in cell A2, write: where 2025 It is the year, the numbers in the curly devices represent the months and

20

It is the day.

When Enter presses, Excel returns a result that spills from cell A2 to A7.

A dynamic matrix formula is used in cell A2 in Excel, with curly orthopedic devices and semicolons that cause the result to spill column A.

=DATE(2025,{2,4,6,8,10,12},20)

The formula that contains curly devices must be placed in a cell that is not part of a formatted Excel table. However, if the resulting values ​​are established to remain fixed, select and copy (ctrl+c) and péguelos as values ​​(ctrl+alt+v, then v, then enter). This makes them a dynamic matrix into a regular matrix, which means that they can now be added to its formatted table.

On the other hand, if you want the result to spill along a row (instead of a column), use commas (instead of semicolons) between the numbers inside the orthopedic devices. Here, writing:

In cell B1 it shows the dates of cell B1 to G1.

A dynamic matrix formula is used in cell B1 in Excel, with orthopedic devices and commas that cause the result to spill in row 1.

=IF(OR(A1=5,A1=6,A1=7,A1=8),"YES","NO")
Curly brakes can also be used to shorten formulas when using logical functions.

The or nested function within the IF function in Excel to identify cells that contain one of several values.

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=IF(OR(A1={5,6,7,8}),"YES","NO")
Make Excel evaluate your data.


However, writing each logical argument individually can take a long time. Instead, enclose the criteria within the curly assistants refines the logical formula and return the same result:

Curly tears used in an IF-or formula in Excel to specify multiple criteria. Other important symbols in Microsoft Excel formulas include the sign of the dollar ($), which converts a relative reference into an absolute or mixed reference, the hash sign (#), which acts as an operator of spilled range and the period (. Cut out blank cells of the result.

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