Microsoft Excel 2003: Functions (Continued)

One of the really neat things about these Help windows is that there are examples for each function. We moved down the SUM help screen using the elevator bar on the right of the help screen. The bottom of the screen looks like the image at the top of the next page. Spend a few minutes looking at the SUM Help window and notice all of the features.


The bottom of the SUM help screen looks like the image on the left. Notice that it gives you examples from a small spreadsheet that has data in cells A1 through A6. It uses these numbers in the examples at the bottom of the help screen.

When you have reviewed all of the help you care to see, carefully click-on the X at the upper right corner of the Microsoft Office Excel Help blue bar to close the Microsoft Excel Help window.


The Function Arguments menu screen will still be on the screen.


If the Office Assistant is still on the screen simply point to it and click the RIGHT mouse button. A pop-up menu will appear. Click-on Hide. This will put the Assistant away until we need it again



As you can see, in the area to the right of Number 1, the “Wizard” has “guessed” that you want to add the numbers in the range C6 to C8. Now that you are becoming proficient with Excel, we’ll try something special. Carefully, point to some “plain part,” in the gray area above. Click and hold down the left mouse button, and drag the above SUM box “away” so that you can see your numbers in C column cells. When you have done this, release the mouse button. Now click-on the “small box” on the right edge of the Number 1 area (see arrow above). It has a little red arrow in it.

The below Function Arguments window will appear.


Highlight cells C6 to C8 in the spreadsheet (click-on C6, hold down the left mouse button, and drag until the three cells are highlighted). A “marquee” will begin to flash around the cells, indicating they are highlighted (left arrow above). The Function Arguments area will appear as above. Now click-on the small button on the right of the cell (see right arrow above). The numbers will show in the area to the right of Number 1. Now, click-on OK at the bottom of the Function Arguments menu screen. You’ll see that the SUM formula [=SUM(C6:C8)] shows in the formula area at the top of the screen. This is a really handy method to highlight a “group” of numbers you want to add.