Whether you are a multi millionaire sitting in your air conditioned cabin or a regular housewife doing her daily grocery shopping, one of the common task that is performed by both is adding the numbers. Yes, in one case we are talking about millions and in other a few hundreds but the point is, you require the adding functions irrespective of your position. AutoSum is one of the most commonly used functions Excel. Along with AutoSum you can also use the functions like Average, Max, Min etc. you can avoid using the formula by using the AutoSum function.
How to use AutoSum formula in Excel?
1. In our example, we want to know the total sales at the end of the year for each location and therefore we shall use AutoSum function.

2. On the right hand side of the home tab, you shall find the option of AutoSum. When you will click on the dropdown you shall find various options like Sum, Average, Count, Max and Min. Since we need the total we shall select the sum option.

3. When you select the option of AutoSum, it will automatically guess the range of the cells to be added. If you want, you can change the range.

4. Press enter and you shall receive the sum of the entire column.

5. To know the Sum of other locations ( NewYork, Sydney, New Jersey ) just drag the fill handle from B14 to E14 and you shall get your respective totals.

Similarly you can also use the other functions like Average, Count, Maximum and Minimum by selecting the respective option in the AutoSum dropdown (See step 2)
Points to remember while using AutoSum function
- To know the sum of a particular column, select the cell immediately below the last number in the column. To know the sum of a particular row, select the cell immediately to the right.
- You can find the AutoSum function in tabs that are Home and Formulas.
- You can also use the shortcut to use AutoSum function that is, Alt + H + U.
- You can use the AutoSum function for more than one cell. In the example above, if you select B14 to E14 instead of selecting B14 alone, then you shall receive the sum of all the columns at once without using the fill handle.
If you have any queries or doubts, do mention it in the comments box below and we shall get back to you as early as possible.
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