This chapter describes the database functions. The Microsoft Excel database functions can be used to evaluate information held in a set of data stored in a spreadsheet.

A database in Excel consists of a list of information with labels (field names) and data rows (data records), as shown In Figure 13-1. The field names describe the information in the fields below them, such as sales or company names. The information in a column is the field content.

Figure 13-1. The database range consists of field names and field contents.

Excel recognizes a table like the one in Figure 13-1 as a database. The structure of a database is important. Field names should be unique, the labels must be entered in the top row, and the database range should not contain any blank rows or blank columns within the data set.

The Excel database functions are not as commonly known as other functions, but they provide powerful and effective analysis tools.

You can also create PivotTables or apply data filters to generate additional results. Excel also provides database functions for queries based on criteria to evaluate specified data ranges.

In Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and earlier, the use of database functions was limited to data lists of up to 65,536 rows. In Excel 2007, this limit was extended, and now a data list can have up to 1,048,576 rows.