Excel IF Value

In Microsoft Excel, there are many ways to move beyond just simple data manipulation such as addition.

One of the MOST POWERFUL features of Excel is the use of IF functions.

Understanding this use of the IF Value will take you beyond what the majority of most users of Excel will ever achive.

So lets take a look:

In this basic example (I cover more in my chapter on the IF value in my hands on guide to Functions and Formulas) I will walk through a simple use of the IF value.

Suppose we have a list of student exam results, and we want to assign a PASS or FAIL value to each student based on the exam result.

We could just manually enter PASS or FAIL but if this is a large list, or you have to change the scores at any point - this is a good time to use the IF function!

In the following example I have just 5 students in the list to keep it simple.

In this example any score over 50 is a PASS.

So I click in Cell B3 and start to type the following formula:

=IF(B3>=50, "PASS","FAIL")

Breaking this down... what we are saying is if cell B3 is greater than 50 it is a pass, if not then it is a fail.

Then simply using the Auto-Fill option I can automatically populate the remaining results for the other students.

If an individual results gets changed simply enter it and the pass/fail will update automatically.

Simple! 

The Excel IF value is a complex function to master BUT very powerful at the same time. NO student of Microsoft excel can become a master of Excel without knowing how to use the IF function.

In the following guide that I have written I spend a whole chapter dedicated to the IF value and how to get the most out of it... Including using nested IF statements.

Grab a Copy of My Excel - "Hands On Guide"

Microsoft Excel Functions And Formulas Guide

Discover more about using Functions and Formulas - CLICK HERE!