Use the IF Function in Spreadsheets

Learning the IF function is the first step to understanding using advanced functions in spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice.org Calc, KSpread, iNumbers or Gnumeric. An IF statement is a useful operation to use in Excel. It tests to determine if a certain condition in a spreadsheet is true or false by comparing a value to that of a cell to a user-set condition, and replaces it with input that the user sets as well. It sounds complicated, but formulating an IF statement is not at all hard.

Steps

1. Choose a cell. Select the cell where you want to enter the function (usually a blank cell), for example B2.
2. Enter an equal sign. The first thing you need to do to type a function is type the equals sign (=).
3. Type IF.
4. Add open brackets. For example =IF(.
5. Select where the results will be displayed. As an example, click on cell A2.
6. Type the statement value followed by a comma. For example =IF(A2>100,
7. Type the condition if the statement is satisfied. Do this followed by a comma. For example =IF(A2>100,"A is over 100",.
8. Type the condition if the statement is unsatisfied. For example =IF(A2>100,"A is over 100","A is less than or equal to 100".
9. Close the brackets. For example =IF(A2>100,"A is over 100","A is less than or equal to 100").
10. Complete the formula. Press Return (or click the tick box) to complete the formula.

Tips

• Nested IF functions are even more advanced and offer even more functionality.
• Conditional formatting can involve IF functions.
• The values stated are examples. You can set whatever values you wish for your IF statement.

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