Excel function guides
Syntax, real examples, the mistakes everyone makes, and a live spreadsheet on every page to try it yourself.
Lookup
VLOOKUP
Learn VLOOKUP with clear examples, the 4 most common mistakes, and a live practice exercise you can try in your browser.
XLOOKUP
XLOOKUP explained with real examples: exact matches, looking left and custom not-found messages, plus a live exercise to try now.
INDEX
Learn the Excel INDEX function: return a value by row and column position, build two-way lookups with MATCH, and practice live.
MATCH
Learn how Excel's MATCH finds the position of a value, why the 0 matters, and how it powers INDEX/MATCH. Includes a live exercise.
Conditional
COUNTIF
Count cells that match one condition with COUNTIF: text, numbers, wildcards and cell references. Real examples and a live exercise.
COUNTIFS
Count rows that meet several conditions with COUNTIFS. Examples for text, number ranges and between-values, plus a live exercise.
SUMIF
Add up values that meet one condition with SUMIF. Totals by category, person or amount, the argument-order trap, and a live exercise.
SUMIFS
Total values that meet several conditions with SUMIFS. Examples by region, month and number range, common errors, and live practice.
Logic
IF
Learn Excel's IF function with practical examples: flag budgets, label rows and return blanks. Avoid the classic mistakes and practice live.
IFS
Replace messy nested IFs with Excel's IFS function. Examples for grades, tiers and SLAs, the catch-all trick, and a live exercise.
IFERROR
Use IFERROR to swap #N/A, #DIV/0! and other errors for a clean value. Examples with division and VLOOKUP, pitfalls, and live practice.
Math
SUM
Add up columns, rows and separate ranges with Excel's SUM function. Clear examples, common mistakes and a live practice exercise.
AVERAGE
Calculate the mean in Excel with AVERAGE. See how it treats blanks and zeros, avoid common errors, and practice in a live sheet.
COUNTA
Use COUNTA to count non-empty cells in Excel. Learn how it differs from COUNT, what it secretly counts, and try a live exercise.
ROUND
Round to decimals, whole numbers or the nearest thousand with Excel's ROUND. Learn when formatting isn't enough, then practice live.
Text
TEXTJOIN
Join cells with commas, spaces or semicolons using TEXTJOIN, and skip blanks automatically. Examples, pitfalls and a live exercise.
LEFT
Pull the first characters from a cell with Excel's LEFT: prefixes, initials and first names. Examples, pitfalls and live practice.
TRIM
Clean imported data with Excel's TRIM: strip leading, trailing and double spaces so lookups and counts work. Examples and live practice.