How to Use Cell Ranges in Formulas in Excel 2003

Once you know how to create a formula in Excel, you can easily incorporate cell ranges into those formulas. Here's how to do it using Excel 2003.

Things You'll Need

• Computer with Excel 2003

Instructions

1. Open the Excel file you would like to edit. It will be easier to make your formulas if you already have data in your worksheet.

2. Click on the cell where you want the formula. You should see a cursor, which means that you can type in the cell.

3. Start your formula with the "=" symbol (equal). Every formula in Excel will begin with the equal sign. This is how Excel recognizes that you are creating a formula.

4. Decide what range you would like to use in the formula. Is it a row or column? There is a slightly different approach for each.

5. Here is an example of a basic formula for a column: =SUM(A12:A24). This formula will add all the numbers in cells A12 through A24. For any formula using a column, you would use the column letter followed by the number of the first cell; then use a colon; then use the column letter and cell number for the last cell.

6. Use this basic formula for a row: =SUM(A1:G1). The only difference from the column range is that the letter changes and not the number.

Tips & Warnings

• Never use spaces in a formula.

• To save the formula, hit the "Enter" key after you put in the formula. If it still shows as a formula and not a solution to your formula, there is something wrong.

• Use trial and error when creating formulas. You can always revert to the last saved version of the worksheet by closing the file without saving it and then reopening the worksheet.