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Formulas

How to add up a column, find an average, count answers and work out one column from two others, using the Insert function button. No formula has to be learnt by heart.

What a formula is

A formula is a small instruction that tells the sheet to work something out for you, such as the total of all your expenses, so that you do not need a calculator.

In Flicx Sheet you do not type formulas into cells. You press one button, Insert function, choose what you want from a small box, and the answer is put into the cell you chose. There are three things you can do:

You want	Use	Example
A quick look at a total, without keeping it	Pick the cells and read the strip under the sheet.	How much did we spend on these five things?
One answer from many cells, kept in a cell	Insert function, then Total.	The total of the Amount column.
An answer on every row, from two columns	Insert function, then Each row.	Price multiplied by Quantity, for every item.

Please noteThe answer is saved as a plain number. The box says so with the words Saved as a value. If you change the amounts later, the answer does not change by itself: run the function again. For a total that always keeps itself right, use the pinned row.

A quick total, with no formula at all

Often you only want to see a total, not keep it. For that you need no formula.

Click the first cell and drag to the last one. Or click the first, hold Shift and click the last.
Look at the strip that appears under the sheet, beside Add row. It shows Sum, Average, Count, Min and Max of the numbers you picked.

To pick a whole column, hold Ctrl and click its name. Press Esc to let go. There is a picture of this in Working in a sheet.

Opening Insert function

First tell the sheet where the answer should go. Then open the box.

Where to find itSheetbar above the sheetInsert function

Choose the cell for the answer, then press Insert function.

Click the cell where you want the answer. For a total, this is usually an empty cell under the numbers. If there is no empty row, press Add row first.
Press Insert function in the bar above the sheet.

If no cell is chosen, a message says Select a cell first. Click a cell and press the button again.
The cell must be in a column that holds text or numbers. An answer cannot be put into a date, a link, a photo or a to-do cell.
Insert function shows when the sheet is in Grid view, not in List view.
If you were given permission only to look at the sheet, a message says View-only project and the box does not open.

Total: one answer from many cells

The Function box, ready to add up five amounts.

Look at the box marked fx at the top. The sheet has already guessed what you want: the numbers just above your cell, or the numbers to its left. Here it reads =SUM(B1:B5), which means: add the cells from B1 to B5.
Under Total, press what you want to work out: Sum, Average, Count and so on. The fx box changes to match.
If the guess is not the cells you want, press the small button at the end of the fx box to pick them on the sheet. Or type the cells yourself.
Check the answer in the box near the bottom. It says in words what is being worked out, such as Sum of B1:B5, and shows the result.
Press Insert. The answer is written into your cell.

Picking the cells with the mouse is the easiest way when you are not used to cell names.

While you pick, the box becomes a small bar at the bottom.

Drag over the cells you want. The bar shows which cells are picked and how many of them hold numbers.
Press Done. The big box comes back with those cells filled in. Cancel goes back without changing anything.

How cells are named. Every column has a letter: the first is A, the second is B, and so on. Every row has a number, shown at its left. A cell is named by its letter and its number: B3 is column B, row 3.

You type	It means
`B1:B5`	The cells from B1 down to B5.
`B2:D9`	The block of cells from B2 to D9.
`B`	The whole of column B, every row that is showing.
`B:D`	The whole of columns B, C and D.

The functions you can use

These are the ten buttons under Total. The last column shows what to type in the fx box, if you like typing. Capital or small letters both work.

Button	What it gives	Typed as
Sum	Every number added together.	`=SUM(B1:B5)`
Average	The sum divided by how many numbers there are. Empty cells are left out.	`=AVERAGE(B1:B5)`
Median	The middle number when they are put in order.	`=MEDIAN(B1:B5)`
Min	The smallest number.	`=MIN(B1:B5)`
Max	The largest number.	`=MAX(B1:B5)`
Count	How many cells hold a number.	`=COUNT(B1:B5)`
Filled	How many cells are not empty, whatever they hold.	`=COUNTA(B1:B5)`
Product	Every number multiplied together.	`=PRODUCT(B1:B5)`
Spread	The largest minus the smallest.	`=RANGE(B1:B5)`
Std dev	How far the numbers usually are from the average. It needs at least two numbers.	`=STDEV(B1:B5)`

Words and empty cells are simply left out. They do not spoil a sum.
A number typed with commas, such as 1,200, is read as a number. So is 42%, which is read as 0.42.
In a Yes / No column, Yes counts as 1 and No as 0. In a To-do column, a ticked box counts as 1. So Sum tells you how many said yes, or how many are done.

TipType amounts as plain numbers, such as 1200 or 1,200, without the ₹ sign. A cell that reads ₹1,200 is treated as words and is left out of totals. Put the sign in the column name instead: Amount (₹).

Each row: one column worked out from two others

Use Each row when every row needs its own answer. A shop's stock list has a price and a quantity on each row, and you want the value of each item.

Price multiplied by Qty, for every row.

Under Each row, choose the first column, the sign, and the second column. Here: Price, the multiply sign, Qty.
Check the answers for the first three rows in the box below. It also says how many more rows there are.
If you want the answers in a new column, type a name for it in New column name.
Press New column to add the answers as a new column at the end of the sheet. Or press Fill and the column's name, to write them into the column of the cell you chose.

Sign	What it does	Typed as
+	Adds the two.	`=C+D`
−	Takes the second away from the first.	`=C-D`
×	Multiplies them.	`=C*D`
÷	Divides the first by the second.	`=C/D`
^	The first to the power of the second.	`=C^D`
%	The first as a percentage of the second.	`=C%D`

To use a fixed number in place of the second column, choose A number… in the third box and type the number. For example Price multiplied by 1.18 to add 18 per cent tax. Typed, it is =C*1.18.
Only columns that hold numbers are offered, and the column of the cell you chose is left out. If the sheet has none, the box says No number columns.
A row where one of the two cells is empty or holds words gets no answer. Its cell is left empty.
If a filter or a search is on, only the rows that are showing are filled, and the box tells you how many.
If Fill would write over cells that already hold something, the app first asks whether to replace them. Press Replace to go ahead.

Worked examples

The total of this month's house expenses, in rupees. The sheet has the columns Item and Amount, with five rows.

Press Add row and type Total in the Item cell of the new row.
Click the Amount cell of that row.
Press Insert function. The fx box already reads =SUM(B1:B5) and the answer shows 11,400.
Press Insert. The cell now holds 11,400.

TipTo keep this total right even when you add more expenses, pin the Total row and choose Sum under Pinned row shows in the Amount column's menu. Then you never have to run the function again. See the pinned row.

Counting the guests who said yes. The guest list has a Yes / No column called Coming.

Yes counts as 1, so the Sum is the number of guests who said yes.

Drag over the cells of the Coming column, or hold Ctrl and click the column name.
Read Sum in the strip under the sheet. It is the number of guests who said yes. Count is the number who have answered at all.

To keep that number in the sheet, click an empty cell in a text or number column, press Insert function, type =SUM(C:C) in the fx box, where C is the letter of the Coming column, and press Insert. Another way to count is to filter the Coming column to Yes and read the bar above the sheet, which says how many rows are showing. See Sort, filter and search.

The value of each item in a kirana shop. The stock sheet has Item, Price and Qty. Click a cell in the Item column, press Insert function, choose Price, the multiply sign and Qty under Each row, type Value in New column name and press New column. A new column called Value appears with the answer on every row.

Marks as a percentage. A tuition sheet has Name, Marks and Out of. Click a cell in the Name column and press Insert function. Under Each row choose Marks, the % sign and Out of. A student with 42 out of 50 gets 84. Then press New column.

When something does not work

Flicx Sheet does not put error codes into cells. When something cannot be worked out, the cell is left empty, or the box tells you before you insert.

What you see	What it means	What to do
The fx box has a red border and a line under it that starts with Try	What you typed could not be understood.	Type it in one of those two shapes, or use the buttons under Total and Each row.
Pick some cells	No cells are chosen for the total yet.	Press the small button at the end of the fx box and drag over the cells.
A short line in place of the answer, and Insert is greyed out	The cells you picked hold no numbers.	Pick cells that hold numbers. Check that amounts are typed without the ₹ sign.
Insert or Fill is greyed out though the answer shows	The cell you chose is in a column that cannot hold a number, such as a date or a photo column.	Close the box, click a cell in a text or number column and open it again.
Nothing to work out yet.	Under Each row, a column or a number is still missing.	Choose both columns, or type the number.
Some rows of the new column are empty	On those rows a cell was empty or held words, or the row was divided by zero.	Fill the missing numbers and run the function again.
The total is old	The numbers were changed after the answer was saved.	Run Insert function again, or use the pinned row for a total that keeps itself right.

Common questions

Can I type a formula like =SUM(B1:B5) straight into a cell? No. The cell would just keep those letters as words. Type it in the fx box of Insert function instead.

Does the answer change when I change the numbers? No. It is saved as a plain number. Run the function again, or use the pinned row, which always keeps itself right.

Can I undo an inserted answer? There is no undo. Click the cell and press Delete to empty it. A column added with New column can be removed with Delete column in its menu.

Does a filter change the answer? When you pick cells with the mouse or pick a whole column, only the rows that are showing are counted. When you type cell names such as B1:B5, exactly those cells are counted, whether a filter hides them or not.

Can I use Insert function on my phone? The button is in the bar above the sheet on a computer. On a phone you can still read every answer that was inserted.

Can Flicx Companion do this for me? Yes. You can ask it in plain words, for example to add a column for Price times Qty. It shows you what it will do and asks before it writes. See Flicx Companion.