Autosum in Excel is a built-in summation feature that is used to automatically add up the numbers in a few clicks, saving time. When you enter numeric values in a column, the results are presented in a cell immediately below the range of cells. For numeric numbers in a row, the total shows to the right of the cell range.

What is Autosum?

AutoSum is a helpful feature of Excel that allows for time-saving calculations. The autosum shortcut in Excel makes adding up several objects quick and easy. The Alt+= keyboard shortcut makes using the AutoSum command significantly more efficient. It can be located under the Home or Formulas tabs. To activate this shortcut, simply hold down the Alt key and tap the equals symbol on your keyboard. For example, the figure below depicts an office inventory list, with cells B2 through B5.

How to Implement Autosum in Excel?

Step 1: Store Data

Consider a sample shop data set divided into five zones and four quarters, as seen below.

Step 2: Find Autosum

Next, you have to find autosum for this go to the Home tab > Editing group > AutoSum.

Step 3: Displays the Formula

A Sum formula is displayed in the selected cell, and the range of cells you’re adding is underlined (B2:B5 in this example):

Step 4: Complete the Formula

You can now see the calculated total in the cell and the SUM formula in the formula bar.

How to Use AutoSum With Other Functions?

• AutoSum allows Excel to handle the arithmetic whenever you add a new column or row of numbers. To total the numbers, choose a cell adjacent to them, select AutoSum from the Home menu, and press Enter.
• When you click AutoSum, Excel will automatically enter a formula (using the SUM function) to sum the values.
• Instead of continually entering a formula, you can copy it to other cells once you’ve constructed it.
• If you move the formula from cell B7 to cell C7, the formula in cell C7 will automatically adjust to the new place and compute the values in cells C3-C6.

Key Points of AutoSum in Excel

• To update the total as rows are filtered, use the SUBTOTAL function instead of the SUM function (=SUBTOTAL(9, Range to total). When applying the filter, the number 9 signifies just adding the viewable rows.
• Simply select a cell and press Alt to total something (horizontally or vertically). The sum function will choose which range you want to total. Enter if the range is correct. This is an alternative to Excel’s autosum formula.

Conclusion

In this article, we have learned about AutoSum. AutoSum is a widely used feature of Excel that adds the numerical values in a range of cells. As a result, it saves time for users who would otherwise have to manually calculate the sum and risk making errors.

Frequently Asked Questions on AutoSum – FAQ’s

What is the purpose of AutoSum?

The main purpose of AutoSum is to add up a column or row of numbers, and let Excel do the work for you. Select a cell next to the values you want to total, then choose AutoSum from the Home tab, press Enter, and you’re done. When you select AutoSum, Excel will automatically enter a formula (using the SUM function) to sum the values.

What is the symbol for AutoSum in Excel?

In MS Excel, the symbol “Ʃ” represents the auto sum, When you use the Auto sum feature, Excel automatically enters a formula to sum the values. The AutoSum button is located on the ‘Home’ tab of the Excel. It is also accessible through the ‘Formulas’ tab on the Excel.

What is AutoSum Wizard?

The AutoSum Wizard automatically detects the range to be summed and generates the formula for you. It can also be used horizontally by selecting a cell to the left or right of the range to be summed.

Why is AutoSum not working in Excel?

The most common reason for AutoSum not working in Excel is that the numbers are structured as text. At first glance, such values appear to be conventional numbers, however Excel treats them as text strings and does not include them in calculations.