Page 21 - PA_Enterprise_January-2025

PAE

Whether you’re a beginner or looking to enhance your spreadsheet skills, here are 10
Microsoft Excel formulas everyone should know:

1. VLOOKUP
VLOOKUP (Vertical Lookup) is one of the most widely used Excel functions. It searches for a
value in the first column of a range and returns a value in the same row from another column.

Function: VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])

How to use VLOOKUP:
• Select the cell you want the result to appear in

• Type =VLOOKUP(

• Enter the value you want to search for (e.g., A2)
• Enter the range of cells to search within (e.g., B2:D10)

• Enter the column number from which to return the value (e.g., 3 for the third column)

• Specify TRUE for an approximate match or FALSE for an exact match (e.g., FALSE)

• Press Enter

2. SUMIF

SUMIF is used to sum values in a range that meet a specific condition or criteria.

Function: SUMIF(range, criteria, [sum_range])

How to use SUMIF:
• Imagine you have a sales list where column A has product names and column B has sales
figures
• To sum the sales of a particular product, use: =SUMIF(A2:A10, “ProductName”, B2:B10)

• This adds up only the sales figures for “ProductName”

3. IF
The IF function performs a logical test and returns one value for a TRUE result and another for
a FALSE result.

Function: IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false)

How to Use IF:
• To assign a “Pass” or “Fail” based on scores in column A, use: =IF(A2>=50, “Pass”, “Fail”)

• This checks if the score in A2 is 50 or above and returns “Pass”; otherwise, it returns “Fail”



January 2025 21