The information in this article applies to:
SUMMARYMicrosoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition includes a new set of functions that are designed to be 100 percent compatible with a similar set of functions in Lotus 1-2-3. This article describes the new functions, which are called A functions (because the function names all end in A). MORE INFORMATIONThe new A functions in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition are the following: AVERAGEAIn general, the A functions treat text and logical values differently than the equivalent non-A functions treat text and logical values in Microsoft Excel. The breakdown is listed in the following table.
Each A function is described in detail in the following sections.
AVERAGEA and AVERAGEThe AVERAGEA function returns the average of its arguments, including numbers, text, and logical values. This differs from the AVERAGE function, which returns only the average of arguments that are numbers; text and logical values are ignored by the AVERAGE function.Example: If you type the following example data A1: 1the formula =AVERAGEA(A1:A5) returns the value 2, because TRUE has a value of 1, the text "hello" has a value of 0, the sum of 1, 2, 6, 1, and 0 is 10, and 10 divided by 5 is 2. The formula =AVERAGE(A1:A5) returns the value 3, which is the average of the numbers in the range. MINA and MAXA, and MIN and MAXThe MINA and MAXA functions return the minimum and maximum values in a list of arguments, including numbers, text, and logical values. The standard MIN and MAX functions return the minimum and maximum values in a list of arguments, but they consider only numeric values. Text and logical values are ignored by the MIN and MAX functions.Using the example data in the AVERAGEA and AVERAGE section, consider the following formulas.
STDEVA and STDEVThe STDEVA function returns an estimate of the standard deviation of a sample. If the sample includes text or logical values, they are included in the standard deviation calculation. The STDEV function also returns the standard deviation of a sample, but only numeric values in the sample are considered.Using the sample data in the AVERAGEA and AVERAGE section, the formula =STDEVA(A1:A5) returns the value 2.3452; the formula =STDEV(A1:A5) returns the value 2.6458. The difference between the results is due to the fact that the STDEVA function considers all values in the range when creating its sample, not just the numeric values. STDEVPA and STDEVPThe STDEVPA function returns the standard deviation of the entire population of a range, including text and logical values. The STDEVP function returns the standard deviation of all of the numeric values in the range.Using the sample data in the AVERAGEA and AVERAGE section, the formula =STDEVPA(A1:A5) returns the value 2.0976, and the formula =STDEVP(A1:A5) returns the value 2.1602. VARA and VARThe VARA function returns an estimate of the variance of a sample, including text and logical values. The VAR function returns an estimate of a sample using only numeric values contained in the sample.VARPA and VARPThe VARPA function returns the variance of a range of values, including text and logical values. The VARP function also returns the variance of a range of values, but only numeric values are used in the calculation.REFERENCESFor more information about the A functions, click the Index button in Microsoft Excel Help, type the following text maxaclick Show Topics, and then double-click the selected text to go to the "MAXA" topic. Use this procedure for information about the other A functions. Additional query words: XL98 1-2-3 purecount tfe transition evaluation
Keywords : kbualink97 kbdta xlformula xl123Quattro |
Last Reviewed: January 13, 2000 © 2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use. |