This will copy the cell contents and format down as far as the contiguous range in preceding column (column A in this case).Īn alternative way to quickly fill in a column is to highlight the range you want to fill, e.g.: To copy the formula quickly down the column, double-click the blue mark in the corner of the highlighted cell, shown by the red arrow. Quickly find out the aggregate measures COUNT, COUNT NUMBERS, SUM, AVERAGE, MIN and MAX, without needing to create functions. Highlight a range of data in your Sheet and check out the quick aggregation tool in the bottom toolbar of your Sheet (bottom right corner). Then click and drag down to make the formula bar as wide as you want.īack to top 12. Adjust The Formula Bar WidthĪn easy one this! Grab the base of the formula bar until you see the cursor change into a little double-ended arrow. When you’re using the function drop-down list in the tip above, press the tab key to auto-complete the function name (based on whatever function is highlighted).īack to top 11. Scroll up and down the list with the Up and Down arrows, and then click on the function you want.īack to top 10.
If you position your cursor over a range of data in your formula and then press the F2 key, it will highlight that range of data for you:Ī great way to discover new functions is to simply type a single letter after an equals sign, and then browse what comes up: F2 To Highlight Specific Ranges In Your Google Sheets FormulasĪs mentioned in Step 2, you press the F2 key to enter the formula view of a cell with a formula in. It applies different colors to each unique range in your formula.īack to top 8. Helpfully Google Sheets highlights ranges in your formulas and in your actual Sheet with matching colors. Click that and it will restore the function helper pane.īack to top 7. If you’ve hidden the function pane, or you can’t see it, look for the blue question mark next to the equals sign of your formula.
There is information about what data the function is expecting and even a link to the full Google documentation for that function. in the image above I’m looking at the “” argument.
The best feature of the formula pane is the yellow highlighting it adds to show you which section of your function you are in. Or you can minimize/maximize with the arrow in the top right corner. You can press the “X” to remove the whole pane if it’s getting it the way. Similarly, pressing the Down arrow takes you to the last character in your formula. When you’re inside the formula view, press the Up arrow to go to the front of your formula (in front of the equals sign). Here’s another quick trick that’s helpful for longer Google spreadsheets formulas: Move To The Front Or End Of Your Google Sheets Formulas Press the Escape key to exit the formula view and return to the result view.Īny changes are discarded when you press the Escape key (to save changes you just hit the usual Return key).īack to top 5. Have you ever found yourself trying to click out of your formula, but Sheets thinks you want to highlight a new cell and it messes up your formula? Shift + Enter is another shortcut to enter into the Google Sheets formula edit view. Press the F2 key to enter into the formula:īack to top 3. Start by selecting a cell containing a formula. Have you ever found yourself needing to copy part of a Google Sheets formula to use elsewhere? This is a shortcut to bring up the formula in a cell. It’s WAY quicker than clicking and typing in the dollar ($) signs to change a reference into an absolute reference. Press the F4 key to toggle between relative and absolute references in ranges in your Google Sheets formulas. Undoubtedly one of the most useful Google Sheets formula shortcuts to learn. Comments In Google Spreadsheet Formulas.F2 To Highlight Specific Ranges In Your Google Sheets Formulas.Colored Ranges in Google Sheets Formulas.Move To The Front Or End Of Your Google Sheets Formulas.How many of these Google Sheets Formulas Tips & Techniques do you know? Contents Individually they may not seem like much, but combine them together in your toolkit and you’ll be more efficient and effective when working with Google spreadsheet formulas. True mastery comes when you know all of the little, hidden shortcuts and tricks built in to Google Sheets to help you with your formulas.
Mastering Google Sheets formulas is more than just knowing the functions themselves and how to combine them.