Spreadsheet noob

[shifty_uk]

I use spreadsheets on a daily basis to organise and keep track of schedules/projects but adding sums and formulas are a total mystery to me.

Having a dilemma today...

Adding up multiple columns to display a total value in the final column is easy HOWEVER, I need to do the things like the following:

Year 1
100
Year 2
x
Year 3
x

What formula would I put into the year 2 cell to double the year 1 amount...

Following that, I'd like to drag the year 2 cell onto the year 3, year 4, year 5 cells to keep multiplying?

Such a simple task shouldn't be such a nightmare but my google skills are failing me with this one

 

[adolf hamster]

=cell adress of year 1's value * 2

You can just click on the cell to set the adress

This will work as long as the formula and its reference are the same distance apart.

As you've written it there is a 1 cell gap between year 1's formula and year 2's formula, and as long as its always a 1 cell gap it'll work to just copy down as much as you want.

Bear in mind if you drag down it'll overwrite all the cells, so it might be better to have it arranged with year number on the left and your total in the next column, so you can drag the whole lot down.

 

[CaptainComedy]

if all in one column:
=sum(startingCell:endingCell)
=sum(a1:a20)

the : will include all values between the numbers and total.

you can even include other columns into the equation

=sum((a1:a20)+(b1:b20))

etc