How to Create a Sum Formula in Microsoft Excel 2003
Spreadsheet software offers very useful tools for both business and home applications where users are able to create complex financial spreadsheets that have a variety of usages. The most common formula used in Excel is the SUM formula, which allows you to take all of the numbers in a group of cells and add them up together, placing the summed total into another separate cell.
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Instructions
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Create a new file and name it for easy saving by left-clicking on the “File” tab on the command bar and selecting “Save As.”
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Create a group of numbers in cells. Select a desired column and then create at least two or more groups of numbers in a row, from top to bottom. For example, if you were to use column “A”, then you would create a group of two or more numbers in cells “A1” and “A2”.
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Create a sum formula for the cells. To create a sum formula, select a vacant cell and activate it by left-clicking on the desired cell. Then enter your sum formula. To create a SUM formula in Excel you use this format: SUM=(A1+A2). Before each sum formula, type in the word “SUM=” followed by the cells that will be summed in parenthesis.
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Save your spreadsheet. Make sure to save your new spreadsheet by clicking on the “File” tab and selecting “Save.”
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Tips & Warnings
You can also left-click and hold the mouse button as you drag the cursor over the cells that you wish to create a sum formula for. This will highlight all of the cells. Then click the “SUM” icon on the command bar, and it will automatically plug the formula into the spreadsheet.
If you delete any of the cells contained within the sum formula, you will also delete the formula from the spreadsheet.
