If you work with Excel and get overwhelmed or intimidated by all of the icons and shortcuts on the toolbar, I am here to help provide some relief (..or I will try my best to). This is something that I know may be very helpful to accounting or data entry specialists that deal with large numbers and calculations of the information within a datasheet. The topic of this hub is to explain how to apply a function to each row in a specified data range in simply one step.

Here is how:

When you format a data range as a table in Excel 2007, you can add a calculated column [a column of functions (ie. sums or averages)] in just one step.

First, you will want to organize your data into a table. To convert a data range to a table in Excel 2007:

Click in the range -> Go to the Home tab -> Styles section -> Click Format as Table -> Click to apply a table style

Once your data is formatted as a table, you want to:

Click in a cell of any empty table column (or a cell in the column directly to the right of the table, on any data row) -> In just that cell, add the function or formula you need. (For example, sum all data on that row of the table.)

After you hit ENTER to apply your formula to the cell, the table column is populated with the same formula. If your insertion point was in the column to the right of the table, Excel formats that column to become part of the table when it generates the calculated column.

You can find more detailed explanations for other Excel functions and tips here.