Formulas for Calculated Fields

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Examples of common formulas

You can use the following examples in calculated columns. Examples that do not include column references can be used to specify the default value of a column.

Conditional formulas

Check if a number is greater than or less than another number

Use the IF function to do this task.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
15000	9000	=Column1>Column2	Is Column1 greater than Column2? (Yes)
15000	9000	=IF(Column1<=Column2, "OK", "Not OK")	Is Column1 less than or equal to Column2? (Not OK)

Return a logical value after comparing column contents

For a result that is a logical value (Yes or No), use the AND, OR, and NOT functions.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	COLUMN3	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
15	9	8	=AND(Column1>Column2, Column1	Is 15 greater than 9 and less than 8? (No)
15	9	8	=OR(Column1>Column2, Column1	Is 15 greater than 9 or less than 8? (Yes)
15	9	8	=NOT(Column1+Column2=24)	Is 15 plus 9 not equal to 24? (No)

For a result that is another calculation, or any other value other than Yes or No, use the IF, AND, and OR functions.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	COLUMN3	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
15	9	8	=IF(Column1=15, "OK", "Not OK")	If the value in Column1 equals 15, then return "OK". (OK)
15	9	8	=IF(AND(Column1>Column2, Column1	If 15 is greater than 9 and less than 8, then return "OK". (Not OK)
15	9	8	=IF(OR(Column1>Column2, Column1	If 15 is greater than 9 or less than 8, then return "OK". (OK)

Display zeroes as blanks or dashes

Use the IF function to do this task.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
10	10	=Column1-Column2	Second number subtracted from the first (0)
15	9	=IF(Column1-Column2,"-",Column1-Column2)	Returns a dash when the value is zero (-)

Date and time formulas

Add dates

To add a number of days to a date, use the addition (+) operator. Note that when manipulating dates, the return type of the calculated column must be set to Date and Time.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
6/9/2007	3	=Column1+Column2	Add 3 days to 6/9/2007 (6/12/2007)
12/10/2008	54	=Column1+Column2	Add 54 days to 12/10/2008 (2/2/2009)

To add a number of months to a date, use the DATE, YEAR, MONTH, and DAY functions.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
6/9/2007	3	=DATE(YEAR(Column1),MONTH(Column1)+Column2,DAY(Column1))	Add 3 months to 6/9/2007 (9/9/2007)
12/10/2008	25	=DATE(YEAR(Column1),MONTH(Column1)+Column2,DAY(Column1))	Add 25 months to 12/10/2008 (1/10/2011)

To add a number of years to a date, use the DATE, YEAR, MONTH, and DAY functions.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
6/9/2007	3	=DATE(YEAR(Column1)+Column2,MONTH(Column1),DAY(Column1))	Add 3 years to 6/9/2007 (6/9/2010)
12/10/2008	25	=DATE(YEAR(Column1)+Column2,MONTH(Column1),DAY(Column1))	Add 25 years to 12/10/2008 (12/10/2033)

To add a combination of days, months, and years to a date, use the DATE, YEAR, MONTH, and DAY functions.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
6/9/2007	=DATE(YEAR(Column1)+3,MONTH(Column1)+1,DAY(Column1)+5)	Add 3 years, 1 month, and 5 days to 6/9/2007 (1/14/2009)
12/10/2008	=DATE(YEAR(Column1)+1,MONTH(Column1)+7,DAY(Column1)+5)	Add 1 year, 7 months, and 5 days to 6/9/2007 (7/15/2010)

Calculate the difference between two dates

Use the DATEDIF function to do this task.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
01-Jan-1995	15-Jun-1999	=DATEDIF(Column1, Column2,"d")	Return the number of days between the two dates (1626)
01-Jan-1995	15-Jun-1999	=DATEDIF(Column1, Column2,"ym")	Return the number of months between the dates, ignoring the year part (5)
01-Jan-1995	15-Jun-1999	=DATEDIF(Column1, Column2,"yd")	Return the number of days between the dates, ignoring the year part (165)

Calculate the difference between two times

For presenting the result in the standard time format (hours:minutes:seconds), use the subtraction operator (-) and the TEXT function. For this method to work, hours must not exceed 24, and minutes and seconds must not exceed 60.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
06/09/2007 10:35 AM	06/09/2007 3:30 PM	=TEXT(Column2-Column1,"h")	Hours between two times (4)
06/09/2007 10:35 AM	06/09/2007 3:30 PM	=TEXT(Column2-Column1,"h:mm")	Hours and minutes between two times (4:55)
06/09/2007 10:35 AM	06/09/2007 3:30 PM	=TEXT(Column2-Column1,"h:mm:ss")	Hours,minutes, and seconds between two times (4:55:00)

For presenting the result in a total based on one time unit, use the INT function, or HOUR, MINUTE, and SECOND functions.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
06/09/2007 10:35 AM	06/10/2007 3:30 PM	=INT((Column2-Column1)*24)	Total hours between two times (28)
06/09/2007 10:35 AM	06/10/2007 3:30 PM	=INT((Column2-Column1)*1440)	Total minutes between two times (1735)
06/09/2007 10:35 AM	06/10/2007 3:30 PM	=INT((Column2-Column1)*86400)	Total seconds between two times (104100)
06/09/2007 10:35 AM	06/10/2007 3:30 PM	=HOUR(Column2-Column1)	Hours between two times, when the difference does not exceed 24. (4)
06/09/2007 10:35 AM	06/10/2007 3:30 PM	=MINUTE(Column2-Column1)	Minutes between two times, when the difference does not exceed 60. (55)
06/09/2007 10:35 AM	06/10/2007 3:30 PM	=SECOND(Column2-Column1)	Seconds between two times, when the difference does not exceed 60. (0)

Convert times

To convert hours from standard time format to a decimal number, use the INT function.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
10:35 AM	=(Column1-INT(Column1))*24	Number of hours since 12:00 AM (10.583333)
12:15 PM	=(Column1-INT(Column1))*24	Number of hours since 12:00 AM (12.25)

To convert hours from a decimal number to the standard time format (hours:minutes:seconds), use the divisor operator and the TEXT function.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
23:58	=TEXT(Column1/24, "hh:mm:ss")	Hours, minutes, and seconds since 12:00 AM (00:59:55)
2:06	=TEXT(Column1/24, "h:mm")	Hours and minutes since 12:00 AM (0:05)

Insert Julian dates

The phrase "Julian date" is sometimes used to refer to a date format that is a combination of the current year, and the number of days since the beginning of the year. For example, January 1, 2007 is represented as 2007001 and December 31, 2007 is represented as 2003356. This format is not based on the Julian calendar.

To convert a date to a Julian date, use the TEXT and DATEVALUE functions.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
6/23/2007	=TEXT(Column1,"yy")&TEXT((Column1-DATEVALUE("1/1/"& TEXT(Column1,"yy"))+1),"000")	Date in "Julian" format, with a two-digit year (07174)
6/23/2007	=TEXT(Column1,"yyyy")&TEXT((Column1-DATEVALUE("1/1/"&TEXT(Column1,"yy"))+1),"000")	Date in "Julian" format, with a four-digit year (2007174)

To convert a date to a Julian date used in astronomy, use the constant 2415018.50. This formula only works for dates after 3/1/1901, and if you are using the 1900 date system.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
6/23/2007	=Column1+2415018.50	Date in "Julian" format, used in astronomy (2454274.50)

Show dates as the day of the week

To convert dates to the text for the day of the week, use the TEXT and WEEKDAY functions.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
19-Feb-2007	=TEXT(WEEKDAY(Column1), "dddd")	Calculates the day of the week for the date and returns the full name of the day (Monday)
3-Jan-2008	=TEXT(WEEKDAY(Column1), "ddd")	Calculates the day of the week for the date and returns the abbreviated name of the day (Thu)

Math formulas

Add numbers

To add numbers in two or more columns in a row, use the addition operator (+) or the SUM function.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	COLUMN3	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
6	5	4	=Column1+Column2+Column3	Add the values in the first three columns (15)
6	5	4	=SUM(Column1,Column2,Column3)	Add the values in the first three columns (15)
6	5	4	=SUM(IF(Column1>Column2, Column1-Column2, 10), Column3)	If Column1 is greater than Column2, add the difference and Column3. Else add 10 and Column3. (5)

Subtract numbers

Use the subtraction (-) operator to do this task.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	COLUMN3	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
15000	9000	-8000	=Column1-Column2	Subtract 9000 from 15000 (6000)
15000	9000	-8000	=SUM(Column1, Column2, Column3)	Add numbers in the first three columns, including negative values (16000)

Calculate the difference between two numbers as a percentage

Use the subtraction (-) and division (/) operators, and the ABS function.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
2342	2500	=(Column2-Column1)/ABS(Column1)	Percentage change (6.75% or 0.06746)

Multiply numbers

Use the multipliation (*) operator or the PRODUCT function to do this task.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
5	2	=Column1*Column2	Multiplies the numbers in the first two columns (10)
5	2	=PRODUCT(Column1, Column2)	Multiplies the numbers in the first two columns (10)
5	2	=PRODUCT(Column1,Column2,2)	Multiplies the numbers in the first two columns and the number 2 (20)

Divide numbers

Use the division operator (/) to do this task.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
15000	12	=Column1/Column2	Divides 15000 by 12 (1250)
15000	12	=(Column1+10000)/Column2	Adds 15000 and 10000, and then divides the total by 12 (2,083)

Calculate the average of numbers

The average is also called the mean. To calculate the average of numbers in two or more columns in a row, use the AVERAGE function.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	COLUMN3	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
6	5	4	=AVERAGE(Column1, Column2,Column3)	Average of the numbers in the first three columns (5)
6	5	4	=AVERAGE(IF(Column1>Column2, Column1-Column2, 10), Column3)	If Column1 is greater than Column, calculate the average of the difference and Column3. Else calculate the average of the value 10 and Column3. (2.5)

Calculate the median of numbers

The median is the value at the center of an ordered range of numbers. Use the MEDIAN function to calculate the median of a group of numbers.

A	B	C	D	E	F	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
10	7	9	27	0	4	=MEDIAN(A, B, C, D, E, F)	Median of numbers in the first 6 columns (8)

Calculate the smallest or largest number in a range

To calculate the smallest or largest number in two or more columns in a row, use the MIN and MAX functions.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	COLUMN3	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
10	7	9	=MIN(Column1, Column2, Column3)	Smallest number (7)
10	7	9	=MAX(Column1, Column2, Column3)	Largest number (10)

Count values

To count numeric values, use the COUNT function.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	COLUMN3	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
Apple		12/12/2007	=COUNT(Column1, Column2, Column3)	Counts the number of columns that contain numeric values. Excludes date and time, text, and null values.(0)
12	#DIV/0!	1.01	=COUNT(Column1, Column2, Column3)	Counts the number of columns that contain numeric values, but excludes error and logical values (2)

Increase or decrease a number by a percentage

Use the percentage (%) operator to do this task.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
23	3%	=Column1*(1+5%)	Increases number in Column1 by 5% (24.15)
23	3%	=Column1*(1+Column2)	Increase number in Column1 by the percent value in Column2: 3% (23.69)
23	3%	=Column1*(1-Column2)	Decrease number in Column1 by the percent value in Column2: 3% (22.31)

Raise a number to a power

Use the exponent (^) operator or the POWER function to do this task.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
5	2	=Column1^Column2	Calculates five squared (25)
5	3	=POWER(Column1, Column2)	Calculates five cubed (125)

Round a number

To round up a number, use the ROUNDUP, ODD, and EVEN functions.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
20.3	=ROUNDUP(Column1,0)	Rounds 20.3 up to the nearest whole number (21)
-5.9	=ROUNDUP(Column1,0)	Rounds -5.9 up (-6)
12.5493	=ROUNDUP(Column1,2)	Rounds 12.5493 up to the nearest hundredth, two decimal places (12.55)
20.3	=EVEN(Column1)	Rounds 20.3 up to the nearest even number (22)
20.3	=ODD(Column1)	Rounds 20.3 up to the nearest odd number (21)

To round down a number, use the ROUNDDOWN function.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
20.3	=ROUNDDOWN(Column1,0)	Rounds 20.3 down to the nearest whole number (20)
-5.9	=ROUNDDOWN(Column1,0)	Rounds -5.9 down (-5)
12.5493	=ROUNDDOWN(Column1,2)	Rounds 12.5493 down to the nearest hundredth, two decimal places (12.54)

To round a number to the nearest number or fraction, use the ROUND function.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
20.3	=ROUND(Column1,0)	Rounds 20.3 down, because the fraction part is less than .5 (20)
5.9	=ROUND(Column1,0)	Rounds 5.9 up, because the fraction part is greater than .5 (6)
-5.9	=ROUND(Column1,0)	Rounds -5.9 down, because the fraction part is less than -.5 (-6)
1.25	=ROUND(Column1, 1)	Rounds the number to the nearest tenth (one decimal place). Because the portion to be rounded is 0.05 or greater, the number is rounded up (result: 1.3)
30.452	=ROUND(Column1, 2)	Rounds the number to the nearest hundredth (two decimal places). Because the portion to be rounded, 0.002, is less than 0.005, the number is rounded down (result: 30.45)

To round a number to the significant digit above 0, use the ROUND, ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN, INT, and LEN functions.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
5492820	=ROUND(Column1,3-LEN(INT(Column1)))	Rounds the number to 3 significant digits (5490000)
22230	=ROUNDDOWN(Column1,3-LEN(INT(Column1)))	Rounds the bottom number down to 3 significant digits (22200)
5492820	=ROUNDUP(Column1, 5-LEN(INT(Column1)))	Rounds the top number up to 5 significant digits (5492900)

Text formulas

Change the case of text

Use the UPPER, LOWER, or PROPER functions to do this task.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
nancy Davolio	=UPPER(Column1)	Changes text to uppercase (NANCY DAVOLIO)
nancy Davolio	=LOWER(Column1)	Changes text to lowercase (nancy davolio)
nancy Davolio	=PROPER(Column1)	Changes text to title case (Nancy Davolio)

Combine first and last names

Use the ampersand (&) operator or the CONCATENATE function to do this task.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
Nancy	Fuller	=Column1&Column2	Combines the two strings (NancyFuller)
Nancy	Fuller	=Column1&" "&Column2	Combines the two strings, separated by a space (Nancy Fuller)
Nancy	Fuller	=Column2&","&Column1	Combines the two strings, separated by a comma (Fuller,Nancy)
Nancy	Fuller	=CONCATENATE(Column2, ",", Column1)	Combines the two strings, separated by a comma (Fuller,Nancy)

Combine text and numbers from different columns

Use the CONCATENATE and TEXT functions, and the ampersand (&) operator to do this task.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
Buchanan	28	=Column1&" sold "&Column2&" units."	Combines contents above into a phrase (Buchanan sold 28 units)
Dodsworth	40%	=Column1&" sold "&TEXT(Column2,"0%")&" of the total sales."	Combines contents above into a phrase (Dodsworth sold 40% of the total sales).  NOTE   The TEXT function appends the formatted value of Column2 instead of the underlying value, which is .4.
Buchanan	28	=CONCATENATE(Column1," sold ",Column2," units.")	Combines contents above into a phrase (Buchanan sold 28 units)

Combine text with a date or time

Use the TEXT function and the ampersand (&) operator to do this task.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
Billing Date	5-Jun-2007	="Statement date: "&TEXT(Column2, "d-mmm-yyyy")	Combine text with a date (Statement date: 5-Jun-2007)
Billing Date	5-Jun-2007	=Column1&" "&TEXT(Column2, "mmm-dd-yyyy")	Combine text and date from difference columns into one column (Billing Date Jun-05-2007)

Compare column contents

To compare one column to another column or a list of values, use the EXACT function.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
BD122	BD123	=EXACT(Column1,Column2)	Compare contents of first two columns (No)
BD122	BD123	=EXACT(Column1,"BD122")	Compare contents of Column1 and the string "BD122" (Yes)

Check if a column value or a part of it matches specific text

To check if a column value or a part of it matches specific text, use the IF, FIND, SEARCH, and ISNUMBer functions.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
Davolio	=IF(Column1="Davolio", "OK", "Not OK")	Checks to see if Column1 is Davolio (OK)
Davolio	=IF(ISNUMBER(FIND("v",Column1)), "OK", "Not OK")	Checks to see if Column1 contains the letter v (OK)
BD123	=ISNUMBER(FIND("BD",Column1))	Checks to see if Column1 contains BD (Yes)

Count nonblank columns

Use the COUNTA function to do this task.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	COLUMN3	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
Sales	19		=COUNTA(Column1, Column2)	Counts the number of nonblank columns (2)
Sales	19		=COUNTA(Column1, Column2, Column3)	Counts the number of nonblank columns (2)

Remove characters from text

Use the LEN, LEFT, and RIGHT functions to do this task.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
Vitamin A	=LEFT(Column1,LEN(Column1)-2)	Return 7 (9-2) characters, starting from left (Vitamin)
Vitamin B1	=RIGHT(Column1, LEN(Column1)-8)	Return 2 (10-8) characters, starting from right (B1)

Remove spaces from the beginning and end of a column

Use the TRIM function to do this task.

COLUMN1	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
Hello there!	=TRIM(Column1)	Remove the spaces from the beginning and end (Hello there!)

Repeat a characater in a column

Use the REPT function to do this task.

FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
=REPT(".",3)	Repeats a period 3 times (...)
=REPT("-",10)	Repeats a dash 10 times (----------)

Other formulas

Hide error values in columns

To display a dash, #N/A, or NA in place of an error value, use the ISERROR function.

COLUMN1	COLUMN2	FORMULA	DESCRIPTION
10	0	=Column1/Column2	Results in an error (#DIV/0)
10	0	=IF(ISERROR(Column1/Column2),"NA",Column1/Column2)	Returns NA when the value is an error
10	0	=IF(ISERROR(Column1/Column2),"-",Column1/Column2)