118. About Calc Functions

Functions are built-in formulas that can do everything from add a range of values to provide an average for a range of cells to figure out the payment amount for a loan at a particular interest rate. Functions consist of two parts: the function name (such as =Average) and the range of cells that the function should act on. Calc provides many functions broken down into different categories (see Table 12.2). A statistical category includes functions such as average, maximum, and minimum. A financial category provides functions that allow you to calculate returns on investment and loan payment amounts among other finance-related calculations.

Table 12.2. Some of the Calc Function Categories

CATEGORY	EXAMPLE	PURPOSE
Date and Time	TODAY	Enters the current date
Financial	PMT	Calculates loan payments
Logical	IF	Returns a true or false answer to a conditional statement
Mathematical	COS	Calculates the cosine of an angle
Statistical	AVERAGE	Calculates the average for a range of cells

The easiest way to enter a function is through the Function AutoPilot. The AutoPilot allows you to select a particular function from the function list and then specify the cells that the function should act on. The AutoPilot also provides information about a selected function and makes it easy for you to get help as you work with a particular function.