XL98: How to Use Natural Language Formulas in MS Excel 98

• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SUMMARY

Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition introduces natural language formulas, which allow you to refer to a cell range in a table by using row or column labels as the reference name. Natural language formulas use the intersection feature that is available in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel.

NOTE: This feature is available by default. To find this feature, click Preferences on the Tools menu and click the Calculation tab. You can turn the feature on or off by selecting or clearing the Accept Labels In Formulas option.

MORE INFORMATION

To refer to an intersection in earlier versions of Excel, you must know the ranges of cells, or you must define range names for the cells before you refer to the range. If the ranges change, you must also update the formulas and defined names.

When you use natural language formulas in Excel 98, it's no longer necessary to create defined names or determine the cell ranges in advance. Excel 98 determines the range based on the row and column labels that you provide in the table on the worksheet. For example, in the following table, the formula returns the value 100 for "Product A" in the "First Quarter":

   = Product A First Quarter

   A1:              B1: First Quarter  C1: Second Quarter
   A2: Product A    B2: 100            C2: 50
   A3: Product B    B3: 110            C3: 60
   A4: Product C    B4: 120            C4: 70

Rules for Labels

Natural language formulas analyze the row and column headings of all tables in the current worksheet to determine the validity of the labels. In most cases, you can use any string as a label. However, there are some guidelines to follow, including the following:

• You can use any letter of the alphabet, a backslash, or an underscore as the starting character.
• You cannot use labels that consist solely of the international decimal point, the plus sign, the minus sign, or the letter "e."
• You cannot use labels that appear to be cell references, for example, you cannot use "FY97."

  You can use any string of characters if the string is enclosed in apostrophes (single quotation marks). For example, if you want to use the following string

        =FY97
  

  type the following:

        ='FY97'
  

• Excel ignores leading and trailing spaces in labels.

  However, spaces are allowed between characters in labels; for example, you can use "Tax Rate."

• You can use a number as a label if the number is between 1,900 and 9,999.
• You can use a date as a label if it uses a built-in date format that contains a day; for example, you can use "12/3/96" or "Dec-3-96."
• You cannot use a label that appears to be a function; for example, you cannot use "Sum()" or "Average()."
• You cannot use a natural language formula in an array formula.
• If Excel finds both a label and a defined name, the defined name takes precedence over the label.

  To use a reference as a label, enclose the reference in apostrophes (single quotation marks).

  For example, if a defined name called "Sales" exists, and you use the formula "=Sales Software," the formula references the defined name. However, if you type the following formula

        ='Sales' Software
  

  the range referenced by the row or column label is always used.

• If multiple tables on the same worksheet contain identical labels, the table Excel uses is determined by the location of the cell that contains the formula. In general, the table that is referenced is to the left or above the cell that contains the formula.

  For example, if a worksheet contains a table in cells A1:E10 and a table in cells A15:E25, if you type a formula in cell A30, Excel uses the labels in the table in cells A15:E25. However, if you type the same formula in cell A12, Excel uses the first table in cells A1:E10. If Excel cannot determine which table you are referring, it displays the Identify Label dialog box. This dialog box prompts you to select the cell that contains the label you want to use.

Stacked Column Labels

Tables may contain more than one column or row label heading. You can create natural language formulas that refer to multiple headings. To do this, type a space between each of the labels in the formula. The following sample table and formula use a stacked column label in a formula.

   A1:        B1: 1995   C1:        D1: 1996   E1:
   A2:        B2: North  C2: South  D2: North  E2: South
   A3: Jan    B3: 100    C3: 50     D3: 200    E3: 70
   A4: Feb    B4: 105    C4: 60     D4: 205    E4: 80
   A5: Mar    B5: 110    C5: 70     D5: 210    E5: 90

   =1995 North Feb

Error Values

#NAME?:

The #NAME? error means that Excel cannot determine the label.

For example, in the formula "=First Quarter Sales," Excel searches for the label "First Quarter Sales." If no matching label is found, Excel searches for the label "First Quarter." If no label is found, Excel searches defined names. The #NAME? error is returned if all the searches fail to find the label.

#NULL!:

The #NULL! error means that the label is valid but does not refer to a valid intersection.

For example, in the formula "=First Quarter Sales," if the label "'First Quarter'" refers to the range A1:A10, and the label "'Sales'" refers to the range B5:E5, the ranges do not intersect.

REFERENCES

For more information about natural language formulas, click Contents And Index on the Help menu (or on the Balloon Help menu if you are using a version of the Macintosh operating system earlier than 8.0), click the Index button in Microsoft Excel Help, type the following text

   formula, names