In A1:A3 (for example) enter the letters A, N, P
Next to each, enter numeric values
Select A1:B3 and use Insert | Name | Create
Now B1 is called A, B2 is called N and B3 is P
In some other cell enter =N+P+P+A+P+A and out pops 2.5
best wishes
--
Bernard V Liengme
www.stfx.ca/people/bliengme
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"KfoozyGirl" wrote in message
...
I'm trying to create a spreadsheet in Excel where P=0.5, A=0.5 and N=0. I
would like to assign these values (somehow) and add up the letters to give
me
a numerical sum in the end cell, eg. N+P+P+A+P+A=2.5. How can I
accomplish
this?

Alternately, can I use symbols, such as checkmark signs, etc., as
substitutes for numbers?

(To understand the practical application, I'm a music teacher trying to
create an attendance sheet for my studio that uses their letters/symbols
to
denote attendance, while still being able to add up the total amount of
hours
for my own invoice purposes.)