Using built-in functions

Built-in functions are actually formulas, and must be preceded by an equals sign (=) on the formula bar. You can use the built-in functions to perform date, financial, logical, mathematical, trigonometric, statistical, and other calculations.

You include a built-in function in a formula according to specific rules:

First activate the cell in which you wish the formula result to go, and then type the formula as usual. You can use a built-in function as the entire formula, or as part of one. You must precede the function name with = to show Ability that it is a formula.

You must type the function name exactly; you can’t abbreviate the name. The only exceptions are that you can enter AVG for the AVERAGE function, and STD for the STDEV function.

The function name is always followed by an open parenthesis, then the required arguments, and then a close parenthesis. Arguments are the values Ability needs to perform the calculation.

For example, the TOTAL function requires as its argument a list of the values you want to add. The list can be numbers, cell addresses, cell ranges, or cell names. Here’s what you might type to find the total of some values in column C of a spreadsheet:

=TOTAL(C1..C15)

If a function doesn’t require an argument, you must still enter the parentheses. For example:

=TODAY()

You can use more than one function in a single formula. Use parentheses to group the various functions and control the order of calculation. For example, you can calculate the average of a row of numbers and display the absolute value of the result by using the formula:

=ABS(AVG(A1..A8))

If Ability is unable to perform the calculation you request, you’ll see an error indicator displayed in the cell instead of the result of the formula. You can find a list of the error indicators, and an explanation of each, later in this section.

See also:

Using the function dialog box to build formulas

Function reference

Using the formula bar