Course Content
Excel Formulas
Excel Formulas
SUMIF
Some Excel formulas are more complex than others, especially when they involve combining multiple functions into a single formula. These are known as compound functions. For example, the SUMIF
function combines elements of both the SUM
and IF
functions, allowing users to sum values that meet specific criteria. However, it doesn’t work quite like a direct combination of SUM
and IF
functions. Let's dive into it.
range | The range of cells that you want to apply the criteria to. |
criterion | The condition or criteria to be met. For example, ">5" to sum values greater than 5. |
[sum_range] | (Optional) The actual cells to sum if they meet the criteria. If omitted, the function sums the cells specified in the range . |
It's important to note that the criterion applies to the values or cells being evaluated for summation, not the sum itself. This distinction can be confusing, as it's easy to assume that if the criterion isn't met, the function won't return a sum.
To better understand how this works, you can break the function down into its components and follow the steps it takes to perform the calculation. Let's start by looking at an example with the IF
formula.
You can break this function into its components and analyze the steps it takes to understand how it works. Let's start with an IF
formula.
Afterward, you can simply use the SUM
formula for the C1:C6
cells and get the same result as with the SUMIF formula. However, the SUMIF
formula is more convenient, as it performs everything in one step. It's also less error-prone since you don't need to add a condition for the if_false
argument, as you would with the IF
formula.
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