EXCEL

5.3 BASICS
FUNCTIONS &
FEATURES
 Learning Outcomes
By the end of this lecture, YOU should be able to

• Work with Vlookup functions

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Vlookup Functions
• VLOOKUP is an Excel function to look up
data in a table organized vertically.
• VLOOKUP supports approximate and
exact matching, and wildcards (* ?) for
partial matches

Purpose
• Lookup a value in a table by matching on
the first column

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Vlookup Formulas
The VLOOKUP function moves
vertically down the rows of a lookup
table, looking for matching information in
the first column of the table

The HLOOKUP function moves

horizontally across the columns of a
lookup table, looking for matching
information in the first row of the table

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Vlookup Syntax
• =VLOOKUP (lookup_value, table_array,
column_index_num, [range_lookup])
• Arguments
• lookup_value - The value to look for in the
first column of a table.
• table_array - The table from which to
retrieve a value.
• column_index_num - The column in the
table from which to retrieve a value.
• range_lookup - [optional] TRUE =
approximate match (default). FALSE =
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Vlookup Syntax
Arguments
• lookup_value - The value to look for in the
first column of a table.
• table_array - The table from which to
retrieve a value.
• column_index_num - The column in the
table from which to retrieve a value.
• range_lookup - [optional] TRUE =
approximate match (default). FALSE =
exact match.

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Vlookup Syntax
Arguments
• The first column of table_array must
contain the lookup values to search.
The column_index_num argument
indicates column number of the value to
retrieve, where the first column
of table_array is column 1.

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Vlookup Syntax
Arguments
• Finally, range_lookup controls match
behavior. If range_lookup is TRUE or 1,
VLOOKUP will perform
an approximate match. If range_lookup is
FALSE or zero, VLOOKUP will perform
an exact match.
Important: range_lookup is optional and
defaults to TRUE, so VLOOKUP will
perform an approximate match by default.

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 Excel Formulas

• To create a basic formula in Excel:

– Select the cell for the formula
– Type = (the equal sign) and the formula
– Click Enter

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Excel Formulas
Typing in the Formula Bar

formulas can also be

entered directly in
the Formula bar

Formula bar always

displays formula, while
active cell displays the
result of the formula
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Excel Formulas
Copying a Formula

using Fill
Handle

point and drag

fill handle

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 Excel Formulas

Revising a Formula Opening Microsoft Excel

press Enter or click Enter button

edit in the cell or in the

Formula bar text box
Excel will recalculate the result of the
formula

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Excel Formulas

ALT +
ENTER

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Excel Formulas

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Excel Formulas

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Excel Formulas (IF
statement)
• Returns one value if a condition you specify
evaluates to TRUE and another value if it
evaluates to FALSE.
• Use IF to conduct conditional tests on values
and formulas.
• Syntax :
IF(logical_test,value_if_true,value_if_false)

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Excel Formulas (Nested
if)
• Syntax :
IF(logical_test,value_if_true,
IF( logical_test ,value_if_true, IF(logical_test,
value_if_true,value_if_false)))

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Calculate with Functions
A function is a built in formula in Excel. A function
has a name and arguments (the mathematical
function) in parentheses.

Common functions in Excel:

Sum: Adds all cells in the argument
Average: Calculates the average of the cells in
the argument
Min: Finds the minimum value
Max: Finds the maximum value
Count: Finds the number of cells that contain a
numerical value within a range of the argument

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Calculate with Functions
To calculate a function:
• Click the cell where you want the function
applied  Insert Function button
• Choose the function
 Click OK

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Calculate with Functions
• Complete the Number 1 box with the first cell
• Complete the Number 2 box with the last cell

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Function Library
The function library is a large group of functions on
the Formula Tab of the Ribbon.

AutoSum: Easily calculates the sum of a range

Recently Used: All recently used functions
Financial: Accrued interest, cash flow return
rates and additional financial functions
Logical: And, If, True, False, etc.
Text: Text based functions
Date & Time: Functions calculated on date and
time
Math & Trig: Mathematical Functions
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Relative, Absolute & Mixed References

Relative referencing - Calling cells by just their

column and row labels (such as "A1“)

• When a formula is copied from one cell to

another, Excel does not create an exact copy of
the formula.
• It will change cell addresses relative to the row
and column they are moved to.
• For example, if a simple addition formula in cell
C1 "=(A1+B1)" is copied to cell C2, the formula
would change to "=(A2+B2)" to reflect the new
row.
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Relative References

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Relative, Absolute & Mixed References

• Absolute referencing - placing dollar signs "$"

within the cell addresses in the formula.
Continuing the previous example, the formula in
cell C1 would read "=($A$1+$B$1)" if the value
of cell C2 should be the sum of cells A1 and B1.
• Both the column and row of both cells are
absolute and will not change when copied.

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Absolute References

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Relative, Absolute & Mixed References
• Mixed referencing can also be used where
only the row OR column fixed. For example, in
the formula "=(A$1+$B2)", the row of cell A1 is
fixed and the column of cell B2 is fixed.

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Auditing Features
Using the auditing tools you can examine the
relationship between cells and formular on your
worksheet and identify errors.
• When you use the auditing tools,
– tracer arrows point out cells and provide data
to formulas (the precedents) and
– the cells that contain formulas that refer to the
cells (the dependents).
– A box is drawn around the ranges of cells that
provide data to formular.

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 Auditing Features
To display the Formula Auditing toolbar

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 Auditing Features -
Precedents & dependents)
• Precedents are cells referred to by other
formulae.
• A direct precedent is a cell being referred to by
the formula in the active cell.

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Auditing Features
Precedents and dependents
• Dependents are cells containing
formulae that refer to other cells.
• A direct dependent is a cell containing a
formula that refers to the active cell.

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 Auditing Features - Tracer
arrows
Cell with a
formula error
• The error tracers display
arrows on the worksheet
to represent the flow of
computations

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Data validation
• To prevent invalid data entry in a worksheet.
• To restrict data entry to a certain range of
dates, limit choices by using a list, or make
sure that only positive whole numbers are
entered.
• Providing immediate help to instruct users and
clear messages when invalid data is entered is
also essential to make the data entry
experience go smoothly.

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Data validation

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Conditional formatting
To help you visually explore and analyze data,
detect critical issues, and identify patterns and
trends.

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Conditional formatting
• Helps to answer these questions by making
it easy to highlight interesting cells or ranges
of cells, emphasize unusual values, and
visualize data by using data bars, color
scales, and icon sets.
• A conditional format changes the
appearance of a cell range based on a
condition (or criteria). If the condition is true,
the cell range is formatted based on that
condition; if the conditional is false, the cell
range is not formatted based on that
condition
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Conditional formatting

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 Linking Worksheets

• You may want to use the value from a cell in another

worksheet within the same workbook in a formula.
• For example, the value of cell A1 in the current
worksheet and cell A2 in the second worksheet can be
added using the format "sheetname!celladdress".
• The formula for this example would be "=A1+Sheet2!
A2" where the value of cell A1 in the current
worksheet is added to the value of cell A2 in the
worksheet named "Sheet2".

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 Macros
• Recording a Marco
• Running a Macro

 Macros are advanced features that can

speed up editing or formatting you may
perform often in an Excel worksheet.
 They record sequences of menu selections
that you choose so that a series of actions
can be completed in one step.

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Recording a Macro
• Click the View tab on
the Ribbon
• Click Macros
• Click Record Macro
• Enter a name (without
spaces)
• Enter a Shortcut Key
• Enter a Description
• Perform the Macro
• Click Marcos
• Click Stop Recording
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Running a Macro
• To run a Macro from the Keyboard shortcut,
simply press the keys that you have
programmed to run the Macro. Or you can
view all macros and run by:
• Click Macros
• Click View Macros
• Choose the Macro and click Run

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Sort and filter
• Basic Sorts
• Custom Sorts
• Filter

Sorting and Filtering allow you to manipulate data

in a worksheet based on given set of criteria.

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• Highlight the cells that will
be sorted
• Click the Sort & Filter
button on the Home tab
• Click the Sort Ascending
(A-Z) button or Sort
Descending (Z-A) button

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Custom Sorts
• Click the Sort & Filter button on the Home
tab
• Choose which column you want to sort by
first
• Click Add Level
• Choose the next column you want to sort
• Click OK

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Filtering
• To display only data that meets
certain criteria. To filter:
• Click the column or columns that
contain the data you wish to
filter
• On the Home tab, click on Sort
& Filter  Filter button  Click
the Arrow at the bottom of the
first cell
• Click the Text Filter  Click the
Words you wish to Filter
• To clear the filter click the Sort &
Filter button Click Clear
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 Customise the layout
• Split a Worksheet
• Freeze and Unfreeze Rows & Columns
• Hide and Unhide Worksheets

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 Split a Worksheet
To split a worksheet into multiple resizable panes
for easier viewing of parts of a worksheet.
To split a worksheet:
• Select any cell in center of the worksheet you
want to split  Click the Split button on the
View tab

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Hide Worksheets
To hide a worksheet:
• Select the tab of the sheet you
wish to hide
• Right-click on the tab
• Click Hide

To unhide a worksheet:
• Right-click on any worksheet tab 
Click Unhide
• Choose the worksheet to unhide

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Question and Answer Session

Q&A

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