Very often I need to include some simple data calculations in a Word document and a table is the best option. You can always try to paste the entire Excel spreadsheet into a Word document, but sometimes it is overkill.
In this article, I will walk you through how to use formulas in Word tables. There are only a few formulas that you can use, but this is enough to get totals, calculations, round numbers, and more. Also, if you are already familiar with Excel, then using formulas in Word will be easy.
Insert formulas into word tables
Let’s start by creating a simple test table. Click the Insert tab, and then click Table. Select the number of rows and columns in the table.
After your table has been inserted, go ahead and add some data. For my example, I’ve just put together a very simple table with a couple of numbers.
Now let’s insert the formula. In the first example, I’m going to add the first three values ??in the first row (10 + 10 + 10). To do this, click in the last cell of the fourth column, click Layout on the ribbon, and then click Formula on the right.
The Formula dialog box opens with the default value = SUM (LEFT).
If you just click the OK button, you will see the value you are looking for in cell (30).
Let’s talk about the formula. As in Excel, a formula begins with an equal sign followed by the function name and arguments in parentheses. In Excel, you only specify cell references or named ranges like A1, A1: A3, and so on, but in Word, you have these positional terms that you can use.
In this example, LEFT means all cells to the left of the cell where the formula is entered. You can also use RIGHT, UP and BELOW. These positional arguments can be used with SUM, PRODUCT, MIN, MAX, COUNT, and AVERAGE.
Alternatively, you can use these arguments in combination. For example, I could enter = SUM (LEFT, RIGHT) and it would add all the cells that are to the left and right of that cell. = SUM (ABOVE, RIGHT) will add all the numbers above and to the right of the cell. Did you understand.
Now let’s talk about some of the other features and how we can specify cells in a different way. If I wanted to find the maximum number in the first column, I could add another row and then use the = MAX (ABOVE) function to get 30. However, there is another way to do it. I could also just go into any cell and type = MAX (A1: A3), which refers to the first three rows in the first column.
This is really handy because you can place formulas anywhere in the table. You can also refer to individual cells like write = SUM (A1, A2, A3), which will give you the same result. If you write = SUM (A1: B3), A1, A2, A3, B1, B2 and B3 are added. Using these combinations, you can link to any data you like.
If you want to see a list of all the functions that you can use in your Word formula, just click the Insert Function box.
You can use IF operators, AND and OR operators, and more. Let’s look at an example of a more complex formula.
In the example above, I have = IF (SUM (A1: A3)> 50, 50, 0), which means if the sum from A1 to A3 is greater than 50, show 50, otherwise show 0. It is worth noting that all these functions really only work with numbers. You cannot do anything with text or lines, nor can you output text or lines. Everything should be a number.
Here is another example using the AND function. In this example, I say that if the sum and maximum value from A1 to A3 is greater than 50, then true, otherwise false. True is indicated by 1 and False is indicated by 0.
If you enter a formula and it contains an error, you will see a syntax error message.
To correct the formula, simply right-click the error and select Edit Field.
This will bring up the field dialog. Here you just need to click the “Formula” button.
This will bring up the same formula editing dialog that we worked with from the very beginning. That’s all it takes to insert formulas in Word. You can also check out Microsoft’s online documentation. which explains each feature in detail.
In general, this is not even close to the capabilities of Excel, but it is enough for some basic calculations in spreadsheets right in Word. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to comment. Enjoy!
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