Cell A1=Alice
Cell A2=Adam Love $A$1
How can I make the cell A1 content as variable so I could use it in anywhere in my worksheet?
You don't have to do something special to achieve this; every cell is available by its cell reference [file].[sheet].[Col][Row]. The only thing is that you can't just put the cell reference as plain text into another cell - you'll have to use a function or a formula instead.
In you example, your aim is to concatenate a string ("Adam Love") and the value of another cell. So, the solution is to use the CONCATENATE() function in the following way:
=CONCATENATE("Adam Love "; $A$1)
Another option is to define a name (Data > Define Range...) say Name:
_A
and Range:
$Sheet1.$A$1
then apply a formula such as:
="Adam Love "&_A
but for your example the effort of setting up the defined name is unlikely to be justified by savings in keying. However this can at times be useful, for example where sheet names are lengthy or keying them is prone to error (the formula above returns the same result even if on a different sheet) and complicated formula can be easier to read (eg=Qty*Price).
Related
I am learning how to use formulas in spreadsheets, I do use libre office.
I need to sort out data in a quite huge messy spreadsheet.
Each column contains mixed data, the sheet is huge, dozens of columns and thousands of rows, if the spreadsheet does not contain errors each cell in a row either contains a different keyword or is empty, there should not be two cells in the same row containing the same keyword.
The problem to solve is to sort out all the data so to reach to have a new spreadsheet in which each cell marked with a given specific keyword is kept in the same position but placed in one column dedicated to that same keyword.
the kind of spreadsheet with mixed up cells to be sorted out
the data in the spreadsheet has to be fixed so to appear in this way
A formula that can be used to extract sorted out data from a cell is the following:
=IF(SEARCH("Text1";B2;1);B2;0)
The formula can be dragged to each cell below to hit the proper cell next to it. The result is correct.
The results are correct, but I do not know why the expected 0 is not printed, there is #VALUE! instead
The logic is very simple, if the cell contains the keyword or any other text that contains that keyword the result is the full content of that cell, otherwise the result is 0.
Here comes the first question, why do I get #VALUE! as a result for those cells that do not contain the keyword? I expected to get 0 instead, just as indicated in the formula,
I tried to leave this filed empty and also to put the 0 result in quotes, the actual result is always the same, #VALUE!...
However, of course this formula extracts only the information contained in one column, so for each other column the process must be repeated.
In order to avoid to create a column with the formula for each column in the spreadsheet or anyway to process each column one by one and more importantly to have then to merge all the results to form one columns containing only cells with a given keyword I thought to use the same formula extending the parsing to each next cell in the row as follows:
=IF(SEARCH("text";B2;1);B2;IF(SEARCH("text";C2;1);C2;IF(SEARCH("text";D2;1);D2;0)))
The logic is very simple and should output in one go a column containing all the cells containing the keyword that are found in the row, check if the first cell in the row contains a word using the search function, if does then the result is the content of that cell, otherwise perform the next test, the next test is the same, check if the next cell contains a certain word using the search function, if does then the result is the content of that cell, otherwise proceed to the next test…. and so on until last test, if no test gave a true result then print 0 (but we get #VALUE!, OK I could live with that...).
In theory should work for a any number of cells, but in the practice does not at all, in fact does work only for the first IF test and cell indicated in the formula.
WHY?
The result using the extended version of the formula to parse N cells in sequence is the same obtained with the simple formula to parse only one cell
Finally, how do I resolve this problem using IF and Search?
Is there any other better approach and way to solve this kind of problems and sort out data in huge spreadsheets of this kind?
Thank you for any hint and help.
MY GOAL:
parse a MM/DD date from the result of a vlookup so that it can be used in a project plan
BACKGROUND:
The vlookup result contains multiple values separated by a "•" (I don't need all of them)
The value I'm looking to parse is not always in the same location in the vlookup result (otherwise I could use the RIGHT formula)
There is a finite number of the values I'm looking to retrieve (and I know them already)
The value that I'm looking to retrieve contains some text with a date range; I only want the first four values in the date range (MM/DD)
I'd like to achieve all this with a single formula with the result in a single cell
CURRENT FORMULA
The formula that I've been working on that is not working is:
=ARRAYFORMULA(if(iserror(search(Iterations!D2:D7,(VLOOKUP(A2,'Results {2596503}'!$C$2:$L$183,3)))),,))
I've set up a sheet called "Erik Help" with the following formulas in B2 ad C2:
=ArrayFormula(IF(A2:A="","",MID(VLOOKUP(A2:A,data!A2:B,2,FALSE),FIND(REGEXEXTRACT(VLOOKUP(A2:A,data!A2:B,2,FALSE),"[0-9]-[0-9]"),VLOOKUP(A2:A,data!A2:B,2,FALSE))-4,5)))
and
=ArrayFormula(IF(A2:A="","",MID(VLOOKUP(A2:A,data!A2:B,2,FALSE),FIND(REGEXEXTRACT(VLOOKUP(A2:A,data!A2:B,2,FALSE),"[0-9]-[0-9]"),VLOOKUP(A2:A,data!A2:B,2,FALSE))+2,5)))
respectively.
They may be longer than actually needed, but you did not share realistic results in Column B or list which symbols may appear in Column B other than in the date; so I tried to account for either a hyphen or a forward slash possibly appearing in Column B in places other than within the date span.
Your analytics sheet also shows a formula that is sorting the results from data!A:A. So even though in your example the original data order happens to be the same as in analytics!A:A, that is not a given (again, based on your formula). Therefore, the VLOOKUP is also necessary.
You did not indicate whether you need to further use these returned date-snippets in calculations, or whether you just need to view them. So the results generated in "Erik Help" are text.
If you want usable numbers/dates, you add further issues that would need to be controlled for in the formula, because you'll only be extracting month and day, not year. That's fine right now. But what about when the date range to be extracted is "12/28-01/13"? If you simply make these values/dates, they will both be assigned to the current year. So the end date here will wind up being earlier than the start date.
Because of this, I've added a second sheet, "Erik Help 2," which contains extended formulas to account for these cases while still returning the date format you want as actual dates which can be used in calculations.
EDIT
(following your note on the sheet: "I would like to remove col b altogether and nest in the formulas in col c and d")
You can adjust the range B2:B by replacing it with your already existing formula in B2.
The new adjusted formula will become
=ArrayFormula(IFNA(SPLIT(REGEXEXTRACT(VLOOKUP(ARRAYFORMULA(sort(unique(data!A2:A))),data!$A$1:$C,2),"\d+\/\d+-\d+\/\d+"),"-")))
Original answer
You can use the following formula:
=ArrayFormula(IFNA(SPLIT(REGEXEXTRACT(B2:B,"\d{2}\/\d{2}-\d{2}\/\d{2}"),"-")))
Make sure you format the results as Date.
(Please adjust ranges to your needs)
Functions used:
ArrayFormula
IFNA
SPLIT
REGEXEXTRACT
try:
=ARRAYFORMULA(IF(A2:A="",,IFNA(TEXT(SPLIT(REGEXEXTRACT(
VLOOKUP(data!A2:A, data!A:C, 2), "\d+/\d+-\d+/\d+"), "-"), "mm/dd"))))
My issue is that I need to reference a cell (A1) which will either be the name of a state that can be found in column L, or it can be "All States" which I then want to include all results of column L. I can't work out how to include this.
=SUMPRODUCT(--(IF(A1="All States",Data!$L:$L,Data!$L:$L=A1)),Data!Q:Q)
I want to add a bunch more criteria based on the above so I don’t want to go down the route of imbedding the sumproduct in an if function because the formula will quickly become too unweildy.
You have a lot of choices. Using your initial formula I would tweak it to
(A) =SUMPRODUCT((IF($A$1="All States",1,($L$2:$L$11=$A$1)))*($Q$2:$Q$11))
But this would need to be entered as an array formula so instead of just confirming with ENTER, you need CONTROL+SHIFT+ENTER. You will know you have done it right when { } show up around your formula. Note that they cannot be added manually.
A non array type formula which would be faster I believe would be to look at your two options. You are either dealing with a single state or all states. Set up an IF check to determine if you need to sum all of column Q, or if you need to find a single value from column Q. I used the following formula:
(B) =IF(A1="all states",SUM($Q$2:$Q$11),INDEX($Q$2:$Q$11,MATCH($A$1,$L$2:$L$11,0)))
A bit of a cheat but but simplifies things, is to add a final state to the bottom of your list in L and call is "All States". In the corresponding row in Q place =sum(First Cell:Last Cell). If you do that then you can use the following formula:
(C) =SUMPRODUCT(($L$2:$L$12=$A$1)*($Q$2:$Q$12))
That are other options out there as well, just thought I would show some options.
The answers in topics with similar titles haven't given me much of a resolution to my particular problem, but possibly I am not asking the right question. It might help knowing I'm an absolute noob when it comes to spreadsheets, so finding my way around is next to nil.
Currently I can set a basic function in the first cell A1 =ROW()
Simple right? Well now here comes the complication. If I click on the bottom right of the cell and start dragging I can then apply that very same function to a whole range of cells. Let's say I apply it from A1:A10. Every cell within this group now has the same function.
Hooray! We did it, right? I applied a function to a range of cells each with their own output. But wait, if I then go back to the original cell and change its formula none of the other cells change with it. GRRRRR!!!!
There are a couple of fixes I've come up with but don't necessarily know how to implement. The first is to have every cell link back to the original cell and reference its function. This would be useful if I wanted to randomly scatter dependent cells about the document. The other would be much more useful in an orderly group where you know the exact dimensions by specifying in the original cell the size of the array you want to apply the function to.
With that said, let me hear your thoughts.
The closest I've come to an answer is to use FORMULA() which returns the formula used by a cell as text. Unfortunately all answers on evaluating the text resort to scripting. How strange! I thought something like this would be common. Might as well get to scripting.
Hold on, I may have spoke too soon. An array can be made with =MUNIT(), but it's only square. Drats!
Ok... I'm hoping the zebra stripes will eventually become its own answer unless someone else beats me to it. So a simple array can be made with ={1,2;3,4} where commas separate values by column and semicolons for values by row except to generate it you have to press Control+Shift+Enter (because reasons?). I'm thinking now that I'll need to have functions that can generate lists of values based on a single function for each row, and pray that it'll work. So, back to looking. (Wow this is taking forever)
The way I was hypothesizing can't even generate a 1x1, e.g., ={ROW()} returns Err:512 which is a formula overflow.
Alright, in summary so far I've narrowed down the two options,
1) link every cell to the original formula
2) populate an array with a single formula
each with their own incomplete answer,
a) use FORMULA() to return the formula of a cell as text
b) create a hypothetical array like so ={LIST_OF_VALUES()}
These both require a strange form of the nonexistent EVALUATE() function to 'function' correctly. Isn't that fun?
Google Sheets handles case b by allowing ={ROW()}Control+Shift+Enter to generate =ArrayFormula({ROW()}). Working with the general case of any sized array being filled with a single function doesn't exist in the world of spreadsheets it seems. That's very saddening because I can't think of a much better tool for what I want to do. Copy paste it is until I need to use macros.
Depending on your specific use case, creating a user-defined function may help:
use the Basic IDE to create your function;
apply it to any cells on any sheet;
modifying the Basic code will affect all cells where the function is used.
I've elaborated the steps in an answer on superuser.
Sure, you could write some complex code to update functions, but wouldn't the easy way be just to drag it to the same range of cells the same way you did before? It should properly overwrite the existing code in there, and if it doesn't, you can just as easily delete the outdated code and drag the new code in.
Probably the best approach is to simply drag the amended formula over the range of cells (as advised by OldBunny2800). This is less error prone and easier to maintain than a custom macro.
Another option would be to use an array function. Then you only have to edit the function once, and the same edit will be automatically applied to the whole range of cells in that array function.
In OpenOffice.org Calc, I would like to apply a formula to a column that references a cell from the same row but in a different column. I.e., =C1*48 in cell D1, but I want all cells in column D to do this without having to copy the formula to each one manually. Or another way of saying it, for each cell in C that has a number, I want to fill in the corresponding row-cell in D with a formula value based on that number. So far, all I can see from the documentation is that I'd have to copy/adjust the formula for every new row in the spreadsheet. And since I have 4 such columns that need calculation, this will get to be tiresome. I have little experience with spreadsheets at all, so I'm hoping that my problem is actually very simple, and that I just am looking at the wrong parts of the documentation.
I don't have OpenOffice in front of me, but it tries really hard to be Excel like in many ways, so usually assumptions about Calc based on Excel are fairly close to reality.
In Excel, a formula in cell D1, that points to a cell in C1, is treated as a relative reference - that is, one column back from where I am now. So when that formula is filled into other cells (either by Fill Down, or dragging the little handle in the corner of the cell outline, or by copy-pasting the formula into a range of selected cells) the new formulas are similarly treated, by default, as referring to the cell that is one column back from them, in the same row.
To force a formula to use an absolute reference, one specifies the cell address with a dollar sign - $C$1 will always point to (use) the contents of cell C1, regardless of where the formula ends up. ($C1 and C$1 are alternates that allow one parameter of the address to change in the usual relative sense while fixing the other half in place... this probably isn't important to you yet).
In other words, I'd expect that you can type the formulas in the first row of your OpenOffice Calc sheet and copy them down to the rest of the row, and things will just work.
If you want to extend your range down you can do this by calculating the first 2 cells with your formula and then highlighting them. You now grab the little square on the bottom right of the highlighted area and drag that down, across or both.
If you have a specific cell (e.g. D2) which you wish to have remain in all the cells you extend your range to, then in your 2 initial cell calculations use the following:
Extending Down
=G2*D$2
=G3*D$2
Extending Across
=G2*$D2
=H2*$D2
Extending Down and Across
Use $D$2
From your question it seems that you are trying to apply the same formula on whole row (or column) of cells and show the result on another row (or column).
The best way to do this is to use something called array formulas or array functions (in libre office). This link has very good explanation - https://help.libreoffice.org/Calc/Array_Functions
The way you would implement this in your case is
Type this formula in cell D1
=C1:C30 *48
and press ctrl + shift + enter
The formula now looks like this with the flower braces {..}
={C1:C30 *48}
and the formula gets applied all the way from D1 to D30.
You can even extrapolate the same concept to a whole matrix (for example: A1:C10)
(The way to tell excel/open office/ libre office that you wrote an array formula is to press ctrl + shift + enter. Never press enter as that will break the array function and convert it to a regular function)