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#1
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abs formula
I have 4 columns of numbers and I am trying to get an ABS value. these are
based on years: 2005 2006 2007 2008 71 169 165 214 How do you do a ABS formula The person who did this last year based it on 2006 and 2007 and he used: =(C2-B2)/ABS(B2) |
#2
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abs formula
The answer depends on the question. What is it that you want to calculate?
If your question is trying to ask what the ABS function does, you can find the answer by typing ABS into Excel's help function. -- David Biddulph "Pammy" wrote in message ... I have 4 columns of numbers and I am trying to get an ABS value. these are based on years: 2005 2006 2007 2008 71 169 165 214 How do you do a ABS formula The person who did this last year based it on 2006 and 2007 and he used: =(C2-B2)/ABS(B2) |
#3
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abs formula
As you probably know, the ABS function returns the positive value of
the value passed to it. E.g., =ABS(-1) returns 1 =ABS(1) returns 1 So the question remains, of what are you trying to get the ABS of? Perhaps =ABS((C2-B2)/B2) I think more detail is required for a definitive answer. Cordially, Chip Pearson Microsoft MVP Excel Product Group Pearson Software Consulting, LLC www.cpearson.com (email on web site) On Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:50:04 -0800, Pammy wrote: I have 4 columns of numbers and I am trying to get an ABS value. these are based on years: 2005 2006 2007 2008 71 169 165 214 How do you do a ABS formula The person who did this last year based it on 2006 and 2007 and he used: =(C2-B2)/ABS(B2) |
#4
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abs formula
What's wrong with the formula "the person who did this last year" used? Why
not use it? Regards, Fred. "Pammy" wrote in message ... I have 4 columns of numbers and I am trying to get an ABS value. these are based on years: 2005 2006 2007 2008 71 169 165 214 How do you do a ABS formula The person who did this last year based it on 2006 and 2007 and he used: =(C2-B2)/ABS(B2) |
#5
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abs formula
His formula was using only two years 2006 and 2007 and the formula
=(C2-B2)/ABS(B2) worked, but I cannot figure out how to use this formula based on four years: 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 to get a variance. He keeps telling me to use the ABS function, but I cannot figure how to get a percentage using this function. I may not be understanding the ABS function. "Fred Smith" wrote: What's wrong with the formula "the person who did this last year" used? Why not use it? Regards, Fred. "Pammy" wrote in message ... I have 4 columns of numbers and I am trying to get an ABS value. these are based on years: 2005 2006 2007 2008 71 169 165 214 How do you do a ABS formula The person who did this last year based it on 2006 and 2007 and he used: =(C2-B2)/ABS(B2) |
#6
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abs formula
What do you want to calculate the percentage of?
2005 vs 2008? Something else? To be honest, what you're having trouble with is percentages. Ignore the ABS for now. Add it after you have the percentage calculation done. Regards, Fred. "Pammy" wrote in message ... His formula was using only two years 2006 and 2007 and the formula =(C2-B2)/ABS(B2) worked, but I cannot figure out how to use this formula based on four years: 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 to get a variance. He keeps telling me to use the ABS function, but I cannot figure how to get a percentage using this function. I may not be understanding the ABS function. "Fred Smith" wrote: What's wrong with the formula "the person who did this last year" used? Why not use it? Regards, Fred. "Pammy" wrote in message ... I have 4 columns of numbers and I am trying to get an ABS value. these are based on years: 2005 2006 2007 2008 71 169 165 214 How do you do a ABS formula The person who did this last year based it on 2006 and 2007 and he used: =(C2-B2)/ABS(B2) |
#7
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abs formula
On Nov 17, 7:03*pm, Pammy wrote:
His formula was using only two years *2006 and 2007 and the formula =(C2-B2)/ABS(B2) worked, but I cannot figure out how to use this formula based on four years: *2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 to get a variance. *He keeps telling me to use the ABS function, but I cannot figure how to get a percentage using this function. *I may not be understanding the ABS function. Forgive me, but I think your misunderstanding is much more fundamental that that. And it is not clear what question you are asking. First, the formula you have above gives you the percentage difference of C2 over B2. Normally, we would write simply =(C2-B2)/B2 (or an equivalent formula). The benefit of using ABS(B2) in the denominator is that it gives meaningful results when either C2 or B2 is negative. For example, if B2 is -100 and C2 is 100, =(C2-B2)/B2 gives -200%, which is nonsense, whereas =(C2-B2)/ABS(B2) gives 200%, which makes sense. But that seems to have nothing to do with your real question, at least not the one you describe above. But honestly, I don't really understand your real question. Take a step back, forgot about ABS, and ask the question you really want to ask. It goes something like this: "I have these 4 years of data, and I want to compute <this. How do I do it?" You said something about wanting a "variance". Unfortunately, that word is ambiguous, having very different meanings for accountants and statisticians. I suspect you don't really want the VARP function. I suspect you want the percentage difference. Right? But you said something about wanting whatever "based on four years". Perhaps you want to compute VARP as a percentage of AVERAGE. That makes sense in some contexts. is that what you want?! Assuming not, I don't know how you want whatever it is you want "based on four years". Do you simply want the percentage difference of the data for 2005 over 2006 and for 2008 over 2007. (You already have it for 2007 over 2006.) If the data are in A2, B2, C2 and D2, then you want (B2-A2)/ABS (A2) and (D2-C2)/ABS(C2). You also said you cannot figure out "how to get a percentage". Is this simply a formatting question? Right-click on a cell, click on Format Cells, then Number, then Percentage and select a desired number of decimal places. I hope this is getting you closer to an answer. If not, please step back and reformulate your question. Forget about ABS. That presumes a solution to a problem we don't yet understand. HTH. "Fred Smith" wrote: What's wrong with the formula "the person who did this last year" used? Why not use it? Regards, Fred. "Pammy" wrote in message ... I have 4 columns of numbers and I am trying to get an ABS value. *these are based on years: 2005 * * *2006 * * * * *2007 * * * *2008 71 * * * * * * 169 * * * * *165 * * * * *214 How do you do a ABS formula The person who did this last year based it on 2006 and 2007 and he used: =(C2-B2)/ABS(B2)- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - |
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