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ARRAY FORMULAS IN EXCEL

In Excel you can perform some powerful and
useful operations using array formulas. This Basic array formula
Tutorial together with the examples in the
Refer to the Screenshot 1. The first set of steps in
workbook introduces basic array and application
this example uses a multi-cell formula to calculate a
of more advanced formulas.
set of revenues. The second formula uses a single-
An array formula is a formula that can perform cell formula to calculate total revenue.
multiple calculations on one or more of the items in a
range. Array formulas in Excel workbook can be Multi-cell formula
placed either:
How to calculate revenue for each product using
in a range of cells (multi-cell formula) or array formula?



in a single cell (single-cell formula) to calculate Select range H8:H22
single amount


Type formula = F8:F22*G8:G22 in formula bar

Press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER
How to enter an array formula?
Excel surrounds the formula with braces ({ })
In most cases array formulas use standard Excel and places an instance of the formula in each
formula syntax however a trick is needed to complete cell of the selected range
the coding. You can also name defined F8:F22 as “Quantity”


and G8:G22 as “Price”

type the formula in the cell begin with ‘=’
press the CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER keys at the {=F8:F22*G8:G22}

or{=Quantity*Price}
same time rather then just ENTER

CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER must be done the first
time the formula is entered and whenever the
formula is edited later

Then Excel will display the formula enclosed in
curly brackes { } – don’t type the { } manually.

If you neglect to enter the formula with
CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER, the formula may return a
#VALUE error or return an incorrect result.
Product Quantity Price
t USD/t
Product A 866 77.8
Product B 813 84.6
Product C 520 61.3
Product D 371 65.1
Product E 717 85.0
Product F 953 73.4
Product G 676 89.3
Screenshot 2: Multi-cell array formula
Product H 499 89.7
Product I 563 67.8 Single-cell formula
Product J 442 85.8
Product K 666 72.0 Screenshot 3 shows how to calculate total revenue in
Product L 526 67.4 a single-cell array formula
Product M 965 71.8
Product N 375 86.9
Product O 914 76.2
Select a single cell, e.g. H23

Type formula = SUM (Quantity * Price)
Screenshot 1: Data for Example
Press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER, and the formula
will appear as:
{=SUM(Quantity * Price)}
 Count the number of differences
This might be useful when we are doing
reconciliation. To use this formula, the cell ranges
must be the same size and of the same dimension.
{=SUM(IF(RANGE1= RANGE2,0,1))

Screenshot 3: Single-cell array formula

Copy-and-Paste using arrays
This component of array formulas called array
constants, where you need to add sets of values that
don't change (such as names) to your array
formulas. TRANSPOSE function can be used to
convert the range from column to row or vice versa.
Refer to examples in the workbook.

Advanced Array Formula

The examples here show you some useful ways to
apply advanced array formulas. Refer to Screenshot
4, the entered array formulas are highlighted in blue.

Exclude range that contains errors

The Excel functions do not work when you try to
calculate a range that contains an error value such
as #N/A. These formulas ignore the errors.
{=SUM(IF(ISERROR(RANGE),"",RANGE))}
{=MIN(IF(ISERROR(RANGE),"",RANGE))} Screenshot 4: Advanced array formulas
{=AVERAGE(IF(ISERROR(RANGE),"",RANG
E))}

Exclude range that contains zeros

This example shows you how to remove zeros from
a range when you need to calculate the minimum or
average the values in that range.
{AVERAGE (IF(RANGE<> 0, RANGE))}
{MIN (IF( RANGE<>0,RANGE )}
Sum values based on conditions
You often need to sum values based on conditions.
For example, this array formula sums just the
positive integers in the range:
{=SUM(IF(RANGE>0,RANGE))}
You can also sum values that meet more than one
condition such as shown in Screenshot 5.
Advantages and Disadvantages

Consistency: You see the same formula on any
of the cells in the range, which ensure greater
accuracy.

Safety: You cannot overwrite part of a multi-cell
array formula.
Speed: You can often use a single array formula


instead of several intermediate formulas.

Smaller file sizes
Disadvantages:

You may forget to use CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER
The formulas are relatively undocumented -


other users may not understand your formulas