About formulas

Formulas are equations that perform calculations on values in a list. A formula starts with an equal sign (=). For example, the following formula multiplies 2 by 3 and then adds 5 to the result.

=5+2*3

You can use a formula in a calculated column and to calculate default values for a column.

 Important   Formulas can only be used in columns with the data type Calculated. You cannot change the data type of a column to Calculated.

A formula can also contain any or all of the following: functions, column references, operators, and constants.

Parts of a formula

Functions   The PI() function returns the value of pi: 3.142...

References (or column names)   [Result] represents the value in the Result column for the current row.

Constants   Numbers or text values entered directly into a formula, such as 2.

Operators   The ^ (caret) operator raises a number to a power, and the * (asterisk) operator multiplies.

Examples

A formula might use one or more of the above elements. Here are some examples of formulas (in order of complexity).

• Simple formulas (such as =128+345)  

  The following formulas contain literal values and operators.

  Example	Description
  =128+345	Adds 128 and 345
  =5^2	Squares 5

• Formulas that contain column references (such as =[Revenue] – [Cost])  

  The following formulas refer to other columns in the same list.

  Example	Description
  =[Revenue]	Use the value in the Revenue column
  =[Revenue]*10/100	10% of the value in the Revenue column
  =[Revenue] > [Cost]	Returns Yes if the value in the Revenue column is greater than the value in the Cost column

• Formulas that call functions (such as =AVG(1, 2, 3, 4, 5))  

  The following formulas call built-in functions.

  Example	Description
  =MAX(Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4)	Returns the largest value in a set of values
  =IF(Cost>Revenue, "Not OK", "OK")	Returns Not OK if cost is greater than revenue. Else, returns OK.
  =DAY("15-Apr-2008")	Returns a day part of a date. This formula returns the number 15.

• Formulas with nested functions (such as =SUM(ROUND([Cost],2),[Profit])  

  The following formulas specify one or more functions as function arguments.

  Example	Description
  =SUM(IF(A>B, A-B, 10), C)	The IF function returns the difference between the values in columns A and B, or 10. The SUM function adds the return value of the IF function and the value in column C.
  =DEGREES(PI())	The PI function returns the number 3.14159265358979. The DEGREES function converts a value specified in radians to degrees. This formula returns the value 180.
  =ISNUMBER(FIND("BD",Column1))	The FIND function searches for the string BD in Column1 and returns the starting position of the string. It returns an error value if the string is not found. The ISNUMBER function returns Yes if the FIND function returned a numeric value. Else, it returns No.