How useful are the top 10 most popular Excel functions
On the official Microsoft website covering every single function in Excel, they have a list of the 10 most popular Excel functions: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/excel-functions-by-category-5f91f4e9-7b42-46d2-9bd1-63f26a86c0eb
They are: SUM, IF, LOOKUP, VLOOKUP, MATCH, CHOOSE, DATE, DAYS, FOND & INDEX.
Here’s what they do.
SUM: Adds all the numbers in a range of cells. For example, =SUM(A1:A10) calculates the total of values from A1 to A10.
IF: Performs a logical test and returns one value if the test is true and another if it is false. For example, =IF(A1>B1, “Over Budget”, “OK”) checks if A1 is greater than B1 and returns “Over Budget” if true, otherwise “OK”.
LOOKUP: Searches for a value in a vector or array and returns a value from the same position in another vector or array. For example, =LOOKUP(4.19, A2:A6, B2:B6) looks for 4.19 in the range A2:A6 and returns the corresponding value from B2:B6
VLOOKUP: Searches for a value in the first column of a table and returns a value in the same row from a specified column. For example, =VLOOKUP(A1, B1:D10, 2, FALSE) looks for A1 in the first column of the range B1:D10 and returns the value in the second column of the found row.
MATCH: Searches for a specified value in a range and returns the relative position of that value within the range. For example, =MATCH(39, B1:B10, 0) returns the position of 39 in the range B1:B10.
CHOOSE: Returns a value from a list of values based on an index number. For example, =CHOOSE(2, “Apple”, “Banana”, “Cherry”) returns “Banana” because it is the second item in the list.
DATE: Creates a date from individual year, month, and day components. For example, =DATE(2024, 5, 20) returns the date May 20, 2024.
DAYS: Calculates the number of days between two dates. For example, =DAYS(“2024-12-31”, “2024-01-01”) returns 364.
FIND: Locates one string within another and returns the starting position of the found string. For example, =FIND(“e”, “Excel”) returns 1, since “e” is the first character in “Excel”.
INDEX: Returns the value of an element in a table or array, selected by the row and column number indexes. For example, =INDEX(A1:C10, 2, 3) returns the value in the second row and third column of the range A1:C10.
Here’s a video explanation on all of these functions, ranked based on how useful they are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COVxc8e8AO4
I believe most of these functions are a bit outdated and more modern alternatives exists that are just a lot better, such as: XLOOKUP, SWITCH, TEXTAFTER, …
How often do you still use these functions? Do you think they still deserve to be the most popular ones?
On the official Microsoft website covering every single function in Excel, they have a list of the 10 most popular Excel functions: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/excel-functions-by-category-5f91f4e9-7b42-46d2-9bd1-63f26a86c0eb They are: SUM, IF, LOOKUP, VLOOKUP, MATCH, CHOOSE, DATE, DAYS, FOND & INDEX. Here’s what they do. SUM: Adds all the numbers in a range of cells. For example, =SUM(A1:A10) calculates the total of values from A1 to A10. IF: Performs a logical test and returns one value if the test is true and another if it is false. For example, =IF(A1>B1, “Over Budget”, “OK”) checks if A1 is greater than B1 and returns “Over Budget” if true, otherwise “OK”. LOOKUP: Searches for a value in a vector or array and returns a value from the same position in another vector or array. For example, =LOOKUP(4.19, A2:A6, B2:B6) looks for 4.19 in the range A2:A6 and returns the corresponding value from B2:B6 VLOOKUP: Searches for a value in the first column of a table and returns a value in the same row from a specified column. For example, =VLOOKUP(A1, B1:D10, 2, FALSE) looks for A1 in the first column of the range B1:D10 and returns the value in the second column of the found row. MATCH: Searches for a specified value in a range and returns the relative position of that value within the range. For example, =MATCH(39, B1:B10, 0) returns the position of 39 in the range B1:B10. CHOOSE: Returns a value from a list of values based on an index number. For example, =CHOOSE(2, “Apple”, “Banana”, “Cherry”) returns “Banana” because it is the second item in the list. DATE: Creates a date from individual year, month, and day components. For example, =DATE(2024, 5, 20) returns the date May 20, 2024. DAYS: Calculates the number of days between two dates. For example, =DAYS(“2024-12-31”, “2024-01-01”) returns 364. FIND: Locates one string within another and returns the starting position of the found string. For example, =FIND(“e”, “Excel”) returns 1, since “e” is the first character in “Excel”. INDEX: Returns the value of an element in a table or array, selected by the row and column number indexes. For example, =INDEX(A1:C10, 2, 3) returns the value in the second row and third column of the range A1:C10. Here’s a video explanation on all of these functions, ranked based on how useful they are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COVxc8e8AO4 I believe most of these functions are a bit outdated and more modern alternatives exists that are just a lot better, such as: XLOOKUP, SWITCH, TEXTAFTER, … How often do you still use these functions? Do you think they still deserve to be the most popular ones? Read More
