Page 166 - Excel Timesaving Techniques for Dummies

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Putting the Insert Function Feature at Your Service
When you click this button, Excel opens the Insert 151
Function dialog box, similar to the one shown in Fig-
ure 27-5. When the Insert Function dialog box first
opens, it displays a list of the functions that you’ve
used most recently (not that that’s any indicator of the
function you want to use in the present). You can then

Select one of the listed functions. If you know
the function you want to use, enter its name
in the Search for a Function text box and then
click the Go button to have Excel list this func-
tion at the top of the Select a Function list box
and select it for use.
Select a new function category. To list all the
functions, select All on the Or Select a Category
drop-down list.
Search for a function that performs the type of • Figure 27-5: Use the Insert Function dialog box to select
calculation you need done. If you don’t know the the proper function and indicate its
name of the function and need to search for it, arguments.
enter a brief description of the kind of computa-
tion you need to do and then click the Go button.

For example, in Figure 27-6, I instigated a search
for a function that calculates your mortgage pay-
ment. As you can see in this figure, Excel recom-
mended a list of financial functions ranging from
PV to FV in the Select a Function list box. As soon
as I selected the PMT function in this Recom-
mended list, the Insert Function dialog box
showed the syntax of the PMT function with all
its arguments and also described the purpose
of the function below it.

After you select the function you want to insert in
the formula you’re building and click OK in the Insert
Function dialog box, the program opens a Function
Arguments dialog box. This dialog box shows all the
arguments for the function you selected. (The manda-
tory arguments are shown in bold, and any optional • Figure 27-6: Searching for a function in the Insert
arguments are shown in regular type.) Function dialog box.

Each argument text box enables you to select the cell, Figure 27-7 shows the Function Arguments dialog
cell range, or cell ranges for that argument directly box after I selected the three mandatory arguments
in the worksheet. When you do, the program auto- for the PMT function. I was able to select all three
matically collapses the Function Arguments dialog cells — B6 for the rate, B4 for the nper, and A7 for
box down to the argument text box to make this the pv argument (see Technique 24 for information
process as easy as possible. on the reason for the different mixed and absolute