About formulas

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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.

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

Parts of a formula
=PI()*[Result]^2

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.

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

ShowSimple formulas (such as =128+345)

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

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

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