Creating Straightforward Formulas

Now that you know what the calculation operators are, try the following example of creating a worksheet (see Figure 5–1) with straightforward formulas that use the four most straightforward operators—addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Figure 5–1. Create this simple worksheet to try using Excel's addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division operators.

To create the worksheet, follow these steps:

1. Create a new workbook. The quickest way to do this is to press Cmd+N.
2. Type the following text in cells A1 through A7:
   • A1. Gross
   • A2. Expenses
   • A3. Tax Rate
   • A4. Tax Amount
   • A5. Net
   • A6. Months
   • A7. Monthly Net
3. Apply boldface to column A by clicking the column heading and then choosing Home Font Bold.
4. Apply the Currency format to column B by clicking the column heading and then choosing Home Number Number Format Currency.
5. Type the following text in cells B1 through B3:
   • B1. 84000
   • B2. 30000
   • B3. 0.18
6. Apply the Percent style to cell B3 by clicking the cell and then choosing Home Number Number Style Percent Style.

   NOTE: You can also enter the percentage in step 6 by typing 18% and pressing Return. Excel automatically changes the number format to Percentage.

7. Now enter the formula =B1*B3 in cell B4, like this:
   1. Click cell B4 to select it.
   2. Type = to start creating a formula in the cell.
   3. Click cell B1 to enter it in the formula. Excel displays a shimmering dotted blue outline around the cell and adds it to the formula in the cell and to the Formula bar (see Figure 5–2).
      

      Figure 5–2. When you click cell B1, Excel adds it to the formula in both the cell and the Formula bar and displays a dotted blue outline around it.

   4. Type * to tell Excel you want to multiply the value in cell B1. Excel enters the asterisk in the formula and changes the outline around cell B1 to solid blue.
   5. Click cell B3 to enter it in the formula. Excel displays a shimmering dotted outline (green this time) around the cell and adds it to the formula in the cell and in the formula bar (see Figure 5–3).
      

      Figure 5–3. Click cell B3 to add it to the formula.

   6. Press Return or click the Enter button (the check-mark button in the Formula bar) to finish entering the formula in cell B4.
8. Enter the formula =B1-(B2+B4) in cell B5. Follow these steps:
   1. Click cell B5 to select it. If you pressed Return to enter the previous formula, Excel may have selected this cell already.
   2. Type = to start creating a formula in the cell.
   3. Click cell B1 to add it to the formula.
   4. Type – to enter the subtraction operator.
   5. Type ( to start a nested expression. (More on this shortly.)
   6. Click cell B2 to add it to the formula.
   7. Type + to enter the addition operator.
   8. Click cell B4 to add it to the formula.
   9. Type ) to end the nested expression.
   10. Click the Enter button to finish entering the formula.
9. Enter 12 in cell B6 and apply General formatting to it. Follow these steps:
   1. Click cell B6.
   2. Choose Home Number Number Format General.
   3. Type 12.
   4. Press the down arrow to enter the value and move the active cell to cell B7.
10. Enter the formula =B5/B6 in cell B7. This time, simply type the formula in—lowercase is fine—and then press Return. You'll notice that when you type B5, Excel selects cell B5 to let you check visually that you have the right cell.

Now that you've created the worksheet, try changing the figures in cells B1, B2, and B3. You'll see the results of the formulas in cells B4, B5, and B7 change accordingly. Excel recalculates the formulas each time you change a value in a cell, so the formula results remain up to date.

TURNING OFF AUTOMATIC RECALCULATION FOR LARGE WORKBOOKS