How to make a difference in excel. How to calculate the difference between dates in MS Excel. \u003d handout (start date; end date; unit of measure)

Instructions

Click on the cell of the table in which you want to get the result. If you just need to find the difference between two numbers, first let the spreadsheet editor know that the formula will be placed in this cell. To do this, press the equal-sign key. Then enter the decrement number, put a minus and type the subtraction. The entire record may look like this: \u003d 145-71. By pressing the Enter key, tell Excel that you have finished entering the formula, and the spreadsheet editor will display the difference in the numbers entered in the cell.

Delta calculates the difference between two values. Deltas help us compare data, such as how last year's revenues compare to this year, or how projected costs compare to actual costs. While calculating delta seems easy, there are drawbacks you need to avoid and tricks that can help you. This article explores the best practices for using deltas in different scenarios.

Delta can be absolute or relative. An absolute delta simply calculates the difference between two values. Absolute deltas are useful when looking for differences that affect the bottom line. That is, when the magnitude of the difference itself matters regardless of the underlying value.

If it is necessary, instead of specific values, to use the contents of some table cells as the subtracted, decremented, or both numbers, indicate references to them in the formula. For example: \u003d A5-B17. Links can be entered from the keyboard, or by clicking the mouse on the desired cell - Excel will determine its address and place it in the typed formula. And in this case, end the input by pressing the Enter key.

Decision. Use empty value as null value

Relative deltas calculate the difference as a percentage of the baseline value. The relative difference between the two is huge, even if the absolute difference is the same. Relative deltas are used when considering rates of change or relative magnitudes. The basic relative delta formula works as long as none of your base values \u200b\u200bare zero. How you decide to treat these cases depends on the type of analysis you are doing. If a value is important to your analysis and you want it not to be filtered out, you can set the value to a specific number, for example 100%.

Sometimes it is necessary to subtract some number from each cell in a column, row, or specific area of \u200b\u200ba table. To do this, place the subtracted number in a separate cell and copy it. Then select the desired range in the table - a column, a row, or even several unrelated groups of cells. Right-click on the selected area, in the context menu go to the "Paste Special" section and select the item, which is also called "Paste Special". Check the box next to the "Subtract" in the "Operation" section of the window that opens, and click the OK button - Excel will reduce the values \u200b\u200bof all selected cells by the copied one number.

Solution: Use the maximum range

For example, if you look at which products have had the fastest growth since last year and a new product was recently introduced, you might not want to exclude that product. Setting the value to 100%, although it can skew your analysis, especially if all of your other products are in the 0-20% range. The best approach is to set a maximum growth rate value for those products that do not have a baseline of zero.

The first column calculates the delta by setting any values \u200b\u200bwith a base from zero to empty. The second column then grabs the maximum value of the first column and uses it whenever the underlying value is zero. The formulas for the two columns then become.

In some cases, it is more convenient to use functions instead of entering subtraction operations - for example, when the subtracted or subtracted must be calculated using some kind of formula. There is no special function for subtraction in Excel, but it is possible to use the opposite to it - "SUM". Call the form with its variables by selecting the line with its name in the "Math" drop-down list of the "Function Library" command group on the "Formulas" tab. In the Number1 box, enter the value to be decreased or a reference to the containing cell. In the Number2 field, type -1 *, and then enter the subtracted number, cell reference or formula. If necessary, do the same with subsequent lines - they will be added to the form as you fill in the blank fields. Then click OK and Excel will do the rest.

Use spaces when one value is negative

Negative values \u200b\u200bcan cause problems when calculating relative deltas. There are several ways to solve this problem. The simplest solution is to treat the delta as invalid, using an empty field to represent if any value is negative.

If we want to treat an increase in value as a positive delta and a decrease in value as a negative delta, the solution is in the opposite sign. It turns out we only need to do this when the underlying value is negative. While this fixes the bad sign problem, another problem arises: smaller changes appear larger. Less change, but larger relative delta. Unfortunately, there is no good solution to this problem.

Most often, when processing data in spreadsheets, an operation is required to calculate the amount in a column, row, or selected group of cells. For these operations in the spreadsheet editor Microsoft Office Excel there is a function called "auto-summing". In addition to simple addition of the values \u200b\u200bof this operation, you can specify more complex conditions.

Delta values \u200b\u200bare best analyzed using color in heat maps. After creating the map, go to the Color dropdown on the Data tab in the Delta field. Then choose a suitable color scheme. All positive deltas will be green, and all negative deltas will be red, with a color intensity indicating the amount of change.

To divide the delta into ranges, use the Progress: Progress: Stop or Progress: Quartile color schemes. Then use the color slider to adjust the thresholds for which values \u200b\u200bdefine each color. Finally, change the folding algorithm used to calculate the cumulative value of your delta for the groups. This ensures that when you hover over a group, you get the average deltas for all the items in the group, not the sum.

You will need

  • Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet editor.

Instructions

For a simple summation of data in any column of the table, click on the cell located under the last row of this column. Then go to the Formulas tab in the spreadsheet editor menu and click on the AutoSum label in the Function Library command group. Excel will place the desired function in the selected cell, enable the formula editing mode in it, and try to determine the summation range on its own. Make sure he was not mistaken - check the correctness of the first and last cells, and if necessary, make changes. Such a need may arise, for example, if there are blank lines in a summarized column - Excel cannot "jump" over them on its own. If the summation area is specified correctly, press Enter - the editor will calculate and display sum.

Calculate the difference between hours

Select the top cell in column A and type "Start Time" and press Enter. Format cells temporarily by selecting the Start tab from the top menu and clicking the arrow under the Font section to open the Format Cells window. Click on the "Number" tab and select the "Clock" category. Select the desired format in "Type:" and click "OK". Enter the hours using the correct syntax. To display the second, be sure to select a format that displays seconds.

Calculate the difference between dates

Select the top cell in column A and type "Start Date" and press Enter. Format the date cells by selecting the Start tab from the top menu and clicking the arrow in the Font section to open the Format Cells window. Go to the "Number" tab and select the "Date" category.

When summing row values, everything described above must be done with the cell located to the right of the last column of the summed range.

If you need to add up all the values \u200b\u200bof a certain area of \u200b\u200bthe table, including both rows and columns, first place the insertion point in the cell where you want to display the result. Click on the same AutoSum label on the Formulas tab, and then select the required area of \u200b\u200bthe table with the mouse. This is the easiest way to specify a range, but you can also do it manually by typing first the address of the upper left cell of the range, then placing a colon and adding the address of the lower right cell. One way or another, after specifying the coordinates of the area to be summed, press Enter - the result will be calculated and displayed by the editor.

Enter dates using the correct syntax. Click on a cell and type "5-8" and press "Enter" for dates in the current year. Include the year for dates other than the current year. Enter the whole year for dates in other centuries. Calculate the difference between the dates and the end date of the formula minus the start date.

Absolute and mixed links

  • Select a cell.
  • Drag to select at least one cell.
  • Drag back until only the selected cell is selected.
It can then be dragged and dropped. There is no keyboard shortcut for editing notes in a cell.

Fill right or down

Paste into all selected cells. To copy the value to all selected cells.

Instructions

If you need to calculate the difference between two numbers using this spreadsheet editor, click the cell in which you want to see the result and enter an equal sign. If the contents of a cell start with this character, Excel assumes that there is some kind of mathematical operation or formula placed in it. After the equal sign, without a space, type the number to be reduced, put a minus and enter the number to be subtracted. Then press Enter, and the cell displays the difference between the two numbers entered.

Delete cell contents

In addition, as an added feature, if the key combination. It will also copy the cell format. The Delete Content dialog box will open, allowing us to easily select what we want to delete. This alternates its work between creating a series or copying its contents while holding down a key.

Default digital format

Table names. As with column or cell references, the dollar sign is used to indicate that the sheet name is absolute. This is when column or row labels are used in a formula.

Change the procedure described in the first step slightly if the numbers to be subtracted or subtracted should be taken from some other cell in the table. For example, so that cell B5 displays the number 55 reduced from cell D1, click B5, enter an equal sign, and click cell D1. After the equal sign, a link to the cell you specified will appear. You can also type its address manually, without using a mouse. Then enter the subtraction sign, the number 55 and press Enter - Excel will calculate and display the result.

Conditional formatting and styling

In both applications, they are essentially numbers whose part is the date and the decimal part of the hour. It depends on the format applied to the cell that is shown in one form or another.

Setting the date for day zero

Any subsequent date will be treated the same in both applications.

This function can also be used to calculate the area of \u200b\u200bthe corresponding circuit. See this section of the article for known issues. Unit is the type of information returned. The dates are stored as sequential numbers so that they can be used in calculations. If you are trying to calculate the remaining days after the end of the last month, do the following.

To subtract the value of one cell from the value of another, use the same algorithm - enter an equal sign, type an address, or click the cell with the value to be decreased. Then put a minus, enter or click the cell with the value to be subtracted and press the Enter key.

If you want to create an entire column of cells containing the difference in numbers from other columns in each row of the table, start by creating one such cell in the first row. Do this according to the algorithm described in the previous step. Then move the cursor to the lower right corner of the cell with the subtraction formula and drag it down with the left mouse button to the last row of the table. Excel will change the links in the formulas for each row by itself when you release the left button.

Sooner or later, the user personal computer have to deal with software like Excel. These are designed spreadsheets that allow you to create various databases.

Instructions

To learn how to work with this program, you must first of all decide on the tasks that should be performed for you. Typically like software has flexible built-in functions that allow you to format and classify all information by different directions... There are many different courses on the Internet that allow you to see in real time how tables are built, information is integrated, data is sorted, and much more.

Typically, the first teaching begins with an introduction. You should be clear about where each graph is. At the moment there are several versions of this software, namely: Excel 2003, 2007 and 2010. Probably, many are accustomed to version 2003. Despite the fact that now updates are being created only for 2007 and 2010, Excel 2003 software does not stop popular.

Open the program on your computer. Go to the "Help" tab and read the items that interest you. In fact, such software is similar in function to Word. There are the same formatting commands, the menu items are very similar, the interface is also clear. To add a new table, click File - New. Next, enter the name of the document in which you will work.

Next, enter the information in the cells of the table. You can stretch each block, both in width and length. To add more cells, right-click on the table and select "Add Cells". In the "Service" tab, you can find additional operations that this software provides. Start by simply copying information into a table, and then try to display it in a table in different ways, sort it, try to present it in a more convenient form.

Related Videos

The Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet editor has row numbering - these numbers can be seen to the left of the table itself. However, these numbers are used to indicate the coordinates of the cells and are not printed. In addition, the beginning of a user-created table does not always fit into the very first cell of a column. To eliminate such inconveniences, you have to add a separate column or row to the tables and fill it with numbers. You do not need to do this manually in Excel.



You will need

  • Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet editor 2007 or 2010.

Instructions

If you need to number the data in an existing table, in the structure of which there is no column for this, you will have to add it. To do this, select the column in front of which the numbers should stand by clicking on its heading. Then right-click the selection and choose Paste from the context menu. If the numbers need to be placed horizontally, select the line and add an empty line through the context menu.

Enter the first and second numbers in starting cells column or row selected for numbering. Then select both of these cells.

Move the mouse pointer over the lower right corner of the selection - it should change from a raised plus to a black and flat plus. When this happens, press the left mouse button and drag the border of the selection to the very last cell of the numbering.

Release the mouse button, and Excel will fill in all the cells selected in this way with numbers.

The described method is convenient when you need to number a relatively small number of rows or columns, and for other cases it is better to use another version of this operation. Start by entering a number in the first cell of the created row or column, and then select it and expand the Fill drop-down list. On the "Home" tab in the spreadsheet editor menu, it is placed in the "Edit" command group. Select the Progression command from this list.

Specify the direction of the numbering by checking the box next to "by rows" or "by columns".

In the "Type" section, select the method of filling the cells with numbers. Regular numbering corresponds to the item "arithmetic", but here you can set and increase the numbers exponentially, as well as set the use of several options for calendar dates.

For regular numbering, leave the default (one) in the Step field, or enter the desired value if the numbers are to be incremented at a different rate.

In the "Limit value" field, specify the number of the last cell to be numbered. Then click OK, and Excel will fill the column or row with numbers according to the specified parameters.

Fix cell spreadsheetcreated in Excel, which is included in the Microsoft Office suite, means creating an absolute link to the selected cell... This action is standard for excel programs and is performed by regular means.



Instructions

Call the main system menu by clicking the "Start" button, and go to the "All Programs" item. Expand the Microsoft Office link and start Excel. Open the application workbook to be edited.

An absolute reference in table formulas is used to indicate a fixed cell address. Absolute references remain unchanged during move or copy operations. By default, when you create a new formula, a relative reference is used, which can change.

Highlight the link to be anchored in the formula bar and press the F4 function key. This action will cause a dollar sign ($) to appear in front of the selected link. Both the line number and the letter of the column will be fixed in the address of this link.

Press the F4 function key again to fix only the line number in the address of the selected cell. This action will cause the row to remain unchanged and the column to move as you drag formulas.

The next press of the F4 function key will change the cell address. Now the column will be fixed in it, and the row will move when moving or copying the selected cell.

Another way to create absolute cell references in Excel is to manually do the link pin operation. To do this, when entering a formula, you must print a dollar sign in front of the column letter and repeat the same action before the line number. This action will cause both of these parameters of the address of the selected cell to be fixed and will not change when you move or copy this cell.

Save your changes and exit Excel.