This week’s hint and tip is about how you can ‘create’ a between symbol in Excel. There are a number of symbols in Excel and when comparing cells the greater than and less than ones are used a lot. We often get asked if there is a between symbol similar to these two and unfortunately no, but you are able to ‘create’ one using a formula. This formula is covered on our Advanced Excel training course but we decided to do a hint and tip on it with its use in this example too. We are going to go through it now below.

The AND function

The AND function in Excel is a logical function that returns an outcome of TRUE if all the arguments are true and FALSE if at least one argument is false. We can use this AND function to test if something is greater than or equal to and less than or equal to something. This essentially is a way of testing for ‘between’ in Excel.

Using a ‘between’ symbol in an IF function

A reminder of the layout of the IF function can be seen below with explanation of its parts:

=IF(logical test,Value_if_true,Value_if_false)

The logical test is what you are looking for or your ‘question’. Then the ‘Value_if_true’ part is the outcome of the test is true. Finally the ‘Value_if_false’ part is if the outcome of the test is false.

Often the logical test is looking to test if something is greater than or less than something, but you can also test for if something is between something. There isn’t a symbol for this, you have to use the AND function and nest it within the IF function. We’re going to show this below.

Worked example

We are now going to create a formula that allows us to test for ‘between’. As there is no actual symbol on your keyboard for this, we are using the AND function to ‘create’ this symbol. This is then being nested into the logical part of the IF function.

The formula we are going to use is shown below:

=IF(AND(B1>=E1,B1<=E2),B1*E3,E4)

The parts of the formula are explained below:

• Logical test: AND(B1>=E1,B1<=E2). This function is testing if B1 is greater than or equal to E1 and also if B1 is less than or equal to E2
• Value if true: B1*E3. The outcome if it is true, a percentage calculation to work out the discount
• value if false: E4. The outcome if it is false, nothing/zero

As the AND function will only return a TRUE if all the arguments in it are true, this formula will only return TRUE if the cell B1 is ‘between’ the two cells E1 and E2.

The video below explains how you can create this ‘between’ symbol and then use it within your formulas in Excel.

Watch the video below to find out more and then try it out on your computer!

We hope you have enjoyed this hint and tip. Why not take a look at our previous one on using the Evaluate Formula option in Excel?

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This week’s hint and tip is about looking at the IF Statement. Some of you might have heard of the it before, but for some​ of you this might be a new territory in Excel. The IF Statement can be a very useful function in Excel. Due to this it is a good one to learn to then insert it within your Excel spreadsheets. This is on our Intermediate Excel training course but as they are popular we decided to do a hint and tip on it too. We are going to go through it now below.

What are they?

The IF Statement is a more complex formula in Excel that can be used in multiple types of spreadsheets. It allows you to test for something (or ‘ask a question’, e.g. is this cell larger than that cell) and then will give two outcomes, if it is true or if it is false.

The ‘layout’

The two outcomes can either bring up a text-based answer/outcome or they can carry out a calculation. The IF statement ‘layout’ follows that of below:

=IF(logical test,Value_if_true,Value_if_false)

The logical test is what you are looking for or your ‘question’. Then the ‘Value_if_true’ part is the outcome of the test is true and then the ‘Value_if_false’ part is if the outcome of the test is false.

Outcomes you can have

Now technically you can only have 2 outcomes with an IF Statement, a TRUE outcome or a FALSE outcome. However sometimes there might be an example where you would want 3 outcomes. This is possible by using nested statements, so you can nest an IF Statement inside another – but that is a topic for a hint and tip another time!

The video below explains what an IF Statement is and how you can create one in Excel.

Watch the video below to find out more and then try it out using the example spreadsheet below in the button!

Click here to download the example spreadsheet shown in the video to try it out yourself!

We hope you have enjoyed this hint and tip. Why not take a look at our previous one on using the SUM function within Excel?

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This week’s hint and tip is about the SUM function in Excel and the different ways that you can go about creating it. This function is​ covered on the Basic Excel training course and we are going to go through the different ways that you can create it on your computer.

The most common function in Excel is clearly the SUM function  and although most people generate this through AutoSum there are several other adaptations and ways of getting this.

AutoSum

This is found on the Home Ribbon in Excel. There is also more than one option you can use it for if you click on the drop down arrow. The drop down arrow next to it allows you to so the SUM function but also some other common simple functions e.g. COUNT and MAX. To use this option you can either select your numbers and click on the AutoSum button and it will work it out for you, or you can click into the empty cell at the bottom of the list and click the AutoSum button and hit Enter and it will work it out again for you.

QA button

To use this option, firstly select the list of numbers and once you have done this the QA button should appear bottom left of the list. Click on this button and select the Totals heading. Under here click on the Sum option and it will have worked out the answer for you.

Typing in the SUM function

Another way is to just type in the SUM function into the cell. To do this, select the empty cell at the bottom of your list of figures and type in =SUM( from here you then need to select the range of cells you want adding up and then type in a close bracket ). Altogether the formula should look something like this: =SUM(A1:A3) (with the references being the numbers you selected). Then hit enter and it will have worked out the answer for you.

Alt =

This is a shortcut way of doing the SUM function. You can either select the cells and type in the shortcut or you can just select the empty cell at the bottom of the list of numbers and type in the shortcut. Both will work out the answer for you. For multiple SUM formulas select the empty cells into which they will go and then type in the shortcut. This will then work out the SUM formula for multiple SUM formulas.

Creating a ‘nested function’ using INDIRECT within the SUM function

Nesting the INDIRECT function within your SUM function allows you to ensure that your SUM function will always include the first number at the top of your list in row 1 even when a new row is inserted above it. An example of this would be this function: =SUM(INDIRECT(“b1”):B4). This example is ensuring that the cell b1 is always included no matter how many rows are inserted above it.

The video below shows you how to create the SUM function in the different ways on your computer in Excel.

Take a look below at the video to find out more and then try it out on your own computer! These are all summarised in text above too.

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This hint is for those people who are Office 365 subscribers and want to know what’s around the corner.

Nowadays most people have the 365 version of Microsoft Office. This version comes with regular updates to the software. This regularly includes fixing any issues/bugs that may have come up. As well as this it also includes any new ‘add-ins’ that might have been developed/created since the last update. There is a whole list of add-ins that are available for you to use within your Excel workbooks, you just need to add them into your workbook by searching for them in the Microsoft Store by clicking on the ‘Get Add-ins’ or ‘Add-ins’ button which is found on the Insert Tab.

If you want to do flowcharts in Microsoft you previously had to buy and use Visio or use the standard sheets and Smart Art diagrams in Excel. Now there is an add in called Visio Data Visualiser/ Here’s a simple screen print of one we’ve done.

You’ll need to see if you are licensed and able to use it but it’s pretty simple.

Steps to use it

Firstly, open Excel and create a new Blank workbook. Select Insert > Get Add-ins or Add-ins. In the Office Add-ins Store, search for “Data Visualizer”, and then select Add. It’s pretty straightforward to use and the refresh button is great. If you want to do more fancy flowcharts you will need a Visio license.

Open the attached Excel workbook here and have a go!

When you click for the Excel workbook, it will allow you to download a copy to your computer to try out. To have a look at the flowchart straight away click on the ‘sign in later option’.

Like this hint and tip? Why not take a look at our previous one on Track Changes in Word?

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This week was a first for John on a Basic Excel training session he delivered for 6 people in Hereford. You may know the concept of BODMAS from your days back at school in the maths classroom, which dictates the order in which calculations are performed in an Excel formula. What BODMAS stands for is laid out below:

BO – Brackets Over   ( )

D – Division   /

M – Multiplication   *

A – Addition   +

S – Subtraction   –

Understanding the concept

Even though it might not apply to your work on a daily basis, BODMAS is an important concept to know about in Excel. It is important to remember that Excel is a program and so it carries out calculations based on how it was programmed to do so. This is where BODMAS comes in to place. For example take a look at the calculation below:

A1 = 10  B1 = 5  C1 = 4           =A1+B1*C1

In this example, I am trying to do a calculation to add A1 to B1 and then times it by C1, so in that scenario I would expect the answer to be 60. However if you put that calculation in to Excel, it would produce the answer as 30! The reason? BODMAS! The calculation has done B1*C1 first because multiplication comes above addition (look above), then it has added A1.

To make the calculation work the way we wanted to originally, we would have to amend it like so:  =(A1+B1)*C1   This would now work as brackets are above everything else and so A1 would be added to B1 first!

Well, John set an exercise to test out the individual’s understanding of this concept before he got round to explaining how it works and on Wednesday 10th November all 6 individuals got it correct. They were from Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Ukraine.  John was most impressed as it was the first time the whole class had given him the right answer in 21 years of training!

Excel courses

If you want to learn about BODMAS in Excel as well as other topics found in the package, why not take a look at our Agendas for our Excel courses on the website here. We are happy to help, contact us for more information.

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Comments from attendees on an Advanced Excel 2013 Training course on 23rd & 27th January run on their premises:

“Best part of the course: interactive and informative”.

“Best part of the course: enjoyed the varied learning style; some listening, some doing on own, some team work, etc.”.

“Very good. Best part of the course: how easy it was to follow (made tricky things seem easy)”.

“Clear and informative. Best part of the course: finding shorter ways of finding/sorting info and Pivot Tables”.

“Clear guidance and notes. Best part of the course: Pivot Tables, Vlookup, data validation”.

“Enjoyed today’s session, really got me thinking. Best part of the course: charts, validation, Vlookup”.

– Maria, Jane, Amelia, Maegan, Debby and Nia

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Excel is definitely a really useful package, we could even say that it appears to be the most popular one to use out of the Microsoft Office packages (except maybe Outlook, as it is sometimes used as a mailing package for a business).

Excel courses continue to be the bedrock of our core business. We have developed a whole range of courses to enable staff to progress through the levels of Excel starting with Basic and going all the way up!

Here’s a summary of what’s in each Excel course:

Customer Comments

Here are some comments off staff who’ve been on our excel courses (there are lots more on our website that you can view here):

“Best part of the course: Use of F11 button. John was helpful and made everything easy to understand”.

“John as a trainer has been patient, thorough and extremely knowledgeable! Best part of the course: the speed was suitable for all levels of people in the group”.

“Very accommodating and well explained. Very patient and coherent. Best part of the course: formulas and linking workbooks”.

Hints and Tips

We also provide a blog of hints and tips which we update 1-2 times on average a month. There are a lot of Excel hints and tips on the website alongside hints and tips about the other Microsoft Office packages. Take a look here at the website to take a look.

We can also bespoke i.e. build a course specially for you from existing course material – just ask us! We can also deliver courses using your own data as well as ours. If you wish to ask about bespoke courses or any of or other courses, please email johnlegge@jplcomputer.co.uk.

We wish you every success this year and look forward to hearing from you soon!

The team at JPL IT Training Limited

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Comments from attendees on a Advanced Excel 2010 course run on their own premises:

“Very good. Best part of the course: finding hidden buttons like advanced filtering”.

“Very thorough notes. Best part of the course: being able to practice every part by ourselves as we go along”.

“Best part of the course: practice exercises”.

– Jodie, Kristy and Angelika

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