Ping! I think I've got it.

If cells B12 or B11 are empty then 0 is entered into the cell,
If B12 is less than B11 carry out the calculation but add 24 otherwise just
do calc

2nd one enter error..... if there is text in either of the cells otherwise
do calc.

Pathetic being so excited over such a small thing. Many thanks for your help
Faz.

But as Rodney says how do you work out the correct syntax and also do you
know of any sites that explain the functions in a very simple way. I tried
your suggestion of looking at the function in the worksheet but if you have
absolutely no idea (like me) what they do or in what context they are used
that won't help with many of them. Perhaps it's my maths and logic that are
at fault here!

Thanks
again
Mifty (still smiling)
--
Mifty


"Faz" wrote:


Hi Mifty, that's a nice name. :)

Basically, formulae or equations are just commands for the computer, so
that it knows exactly what calculations to make. I consider it to be
translating English to the language that the spreadsheet knows.

This first equation is an example of a nested IF statement. IF
statements are usually presented like this
=IF(A1=8,"Yes","No")
This example is telling the computer, if cell A1 is equal to 8, then
this cell will be "Yes", otherwise "No". Nested IF statements are IF
statements within IF statements, like this
=IF(A180%,"A",IF(A170%,"B",IF(A160%,"C",IF(A15 0%,"D",IF(A140%,"E","U")))))
(In English!) This would mean if the value is above 80% it's an A,
otherwise if it's not above 80%, but it's above 70% it's a B, etc. So
this would be the percentage a student got on their exam and their
grade.

It's always important that the total number of open brackets is the
same as closed brackets in a formula. If you know how to use brackets
effectively, you shouldn't need to worry.

=IF(A1=1,IF(A2=1,IF(A3=1,"Match",""),""),"")
This is another example, the formula checks if all 3 cells are equal to
1, if they are it's a "Match" otherwise the cell is left empty. Notice
how the closed bracket is put in place to show that the function ends.

All functions within a formula start with ( and end with ) this is
crucial to remember if you deal with functions inside other functions,
like this one.
=IF(A1=70,LEFT(A2,4),RIGHT(A2,1))
There's 2 closed brackets at the end of this equation, the first marks
the end of the RIGHT function, the second is the end of the IF
statement, starting the formula.

For a detailed run through of every function in excel, select an empty
cell, go to Insert at the top, and select Function, or Insert
Function.

This should help you understand a little more about equations and
functions, i'll let you try to work out those you posted, if you're
still struggling, i'll post some more tips. ;)


--
Faz
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