how to use conditional functions in google sheets
IN SUMMARY
Conditional functions in Google Sheets allow you to perform calculations or return values based on specific criteria or conditions. They are powerful tools for data analysis and decision-making.
IF Function
The IF function evaluates a condition and returns one value if the condition is true, and another value if the condition is false. For example, =IF(A1>10, "Greater than 10", "Less than or equal to 10") will return "Greater than 10" if the value in cell A1 is greater than 10, and "Less than or equal to 10" otherwise.
You can nest multiple IF functions within each other to evaluate multiple conditions. For example, =IF(A1>10, "Greater than 10", IF(A1>5, "Between 5 and 10", "Less than or equal to 5")) will return different values based on whether A1 is greater than 10, between 5 and 10, or less than or equal to 5.
Instead of hardcoding values in the IF function, you can use cell references to make the function more dynamic. For example, =IF(A1>B1, A1, B1) will return the larger value between cells A1 and B1.
SUMIF and COUNTIF Functions
The SUMIF function adds the values in a range that meet a specific criteria. For example, =SUMIF(A1:A10, ">10", B1:B10) will sum the values in the range B1:B10 where the corresponding values in the range A1:A10 are greater than 10.
The COUNTIF function counts the number of cells within a range that meet a specific criteria. For example, =COUNTIF(A1:A10, "Apple") will count the number of cells in the range A1:A10 that contain the text "Apple".
You can use wildcard characters like * and ? in the criteria argument to match patterns. For example, =COUNTIF(A1:A10, "A*") will count the number of cells in the range A1:A10 that start with the letter "A".
VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP Functions
The VLOOKUP function searches for a value in the first column of a table and returns a value from the same row in another column. For example, =VLOOKUP("Apple", A1:B10, 2, FALSE) will search for "Apple" in the range A1:A10 and return the corresponding value from the second column (B1:B10).
The HLOOKUP function works similarly to VLOOKUP, but it searches for a value in the first row of a table and returns a value from the same column in another row. For example, =HLOOKUP("Apple", A1:E1, 3, FALSE) will search for "Apple" in the range A1:E1 and return the corresponding value from the third row (A3:E3).
The range_lookup argument in VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP determines whether the function should perform an exact match (FALSE) or an approximate match (TRUE). Approximate matches can be useful when working with sorted data, but exact matches are generally preferred for most use cases.