Excel Formulas and Functions For Dummies

Learn to use Excel for practical, day–to–day calculations Excel is a powerful program with more than 300 built–in functions that can be used to perform an almost infinite number of calculations. This friendly book shows you how to use the 150 most valuable ones in real–world situations: to compare the cost of buying vs. leasing a car, calculate classroom grades, or evaluate investment performance, for example. Another 85 specialized functions are also described. Detailed, step–by–step instructions help you understand how functions work within formulas and how you can use them to solve everyday problems. Excel is a complex tool, making it a perfect subject for the straightforward, plain–English approach of this book Formulas and functions are explained in classic For Dummies fashion, with examples of how to apply the 150 most commonly used functions in real–world situations Discover how to use Excel to compare the cost of 15 and 30–year mortgages, decide whether to buy or lease a car, calculate the actual cost of credit card purchases, forecast college expenses, design a database for your own use, and much more Serves as an excellent resource for all versions of Excel, including the latest version 2013 Excel Formulas and Functions For Dummies, 3rd Edition helps you put the power of Excel to work in your daily life.

Introduction 1 Part I: Putting the Fun in Functions 5 Chapter 1: Tapping into Formula and Function Fundamentals 7 Chapter 2: Saving Time with Function Tools 39 Chapter 3: Saying &ldquo,Array!&rdquo, for Formulas and Functions 57 Chapter 4: Fixing Formula Boo–Boos 69 Part II: Doing the Math 87 Chapter 5: Calculating Loan Payments and Interest Rates 89 Chapter 6: Appreciating What You&rsquo,ll Get, Depreciating What You&rsquo,ve Got 109 Chapter 7: Using Basic Math Functions 125 Chapter 8: Advancing Your Math 143 Part III: Solving with Statistics 165 Chapter 9: Throwing Statistics a Curve 167 Chapter 10: Using Signifi cance Tests 205 Chapter 11: Rolling the Dice on Predictions and Probability 215 Part IV: Working with Data 233 Chapter 12: Dressing Up for Date Functions 235 Chapter 13: Keeping Well–Timed Functions 255 Chapter 14: Using Lookup, Logical, and Reference Functions 265 Chapter 15: Digging Up the Facts 297 Chapter 16: Writing Home about Text Functions 311 Chapter 17: Playing Records with Database Functions 337 Part V: The Part of Tens 351 Chapter 18: Ten Tips for Working with Formulas 353 Chapter 19: Ten Functions You Really Should Know 365 Chapter 20: Some Really Cool Functions 371 Index 377