An overview of data tables in Microsoft Excel (282852)

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The following formula calculates tax on an item based on the item's cost (itemcost): One way to calculate tax for several items is to type the formula for each item, as shown in the following example:

   Table created manually (with formulas displayed)
   ================================================

         |     A      |   B
      ---|------------|-------
       1 |Item Cost   |Tax
       2 |          15|=A2*8.1%
       3 |        17.5|=A3*8.1%
       4 |       22.35|=A4*8.1%

   Table created manually (with values displayed)
   ==============================================

         |     A    |   B
      ---|----------|-------
       1 | Item Cost|Tax
       2 |    $15.00|  $1.22
       3 |    $17.50|  $1.42
       4 |    $22.35|  $1.81
				

In the previous examples, you must type or copy the tax formula for each item you want to evaluate. However, if you create a table with the Table command, you only have to type the formula once:

   Table created with the Table command (with formulas displayed)
   ==============================================================

         |     A     |     B
      ---|-----------|------------
       1 | Item Cost | =C1*8.1%    <--The formula is typed once; then the
       2 |         15| =TABLE(,C1) <--Table command puts the results here.
       3 |       17.5| =TABLE(,C1) 
       4 |      22.35| =TABLE(,C1) 

   C1 represents a variable. The values in cells A2:A4 are substituted for
   C1, and the corresponding result is placed in cells B2:B4.

   Table created with the Table command (with values displayed)
   ============================================================

         |     A         B
      ---|-----------|------
       1 |Item Cost  |Tax
       2 |     $15.00| $1.22
       3 |     $17.50| $1.42
       4 |     $22.35| $1.81
				

The values in cells A1 and B1 are number formats. To duplicate these values, follow these steps:

1. Select cell A1.
2. On the Format menu, click Cells.
3. Click the Number tab.
4. In the Category list, click Custom.
5. In the Type box, type "Item Cost" (with the quotation marks).
6. Click OK.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 for cell B2, but type the format in step 5 as "Tax" (with the quotation marks).