Microsoft Excel course

Excel Lesson 6

IF, COUNTIF, and Conditional Results

First-time setup and success checks

Lesson goal in plain language: Use logical and counting functions to turn raw workplace data into useful status information.

Prepare before step 1

  1. Open the correct application, website, or device screen and wait for its name to be announced.
  2. Open Excel manual and review the matching procedure if any command or term is unfamiliar.
  3. Use only fictional, public, disposable, or instructor-provided practice information. Make a copy before changing an important file.
  4. Read all numbered instructions once before performing them so you know the intended final result.

Commands used or referenced

Enter, F2, Ctrl+Grave, Insert+Spacebar,, Alt+Q

For a plus-sign command, hold the modifier key, press and release the final key, then release the modifier. For a sequence, press and release each key in order. Stop after every command and listen for the result.

Work and verify

  1. Perform one numbered instruction and stop. Identify the active window, focused control, selected item, cell, slide, message, field, or device area before continuing.
  2. Compare the result with the lesson goal. A sound alone is not enough; verify the name, state, value, location, permission, or content.
  3. If the result is wrong, press Escape once to leave an unexpected menu, identify focus again, and use Undo only when the change is safely reversible.
  4. Save or synchronize at natural stopping points. Use the required filename Excel-Lesson-6.xlsx.
  5. Complete the “Before submitting” checklist from top to bottom. Correct missing items before marking the lesson complete.
  6. Close and reopen the practice item, or return to it from the product’s main screen, to prove you can locate and verify the result independently.

Success standard: Explain what each major command did, show the finished result, and recover from one harmless focus or navigation error without another person naming the next key.

Goal

Use logical and counting functions to turn raw workplace data into useful status information.

Skills practiced

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Create a workbook with the headers Employee, Completed Hours, Required Hours, and Status.
  2. Enter six fictional employees. Give each person completed hours and a required-hours goal.
  3. In D2, type =IF(B2>=C2,"Complete","Needs Training") and press Enter.
  4. Copy the formula from D2 through all employee rows.
  5. Below the list, enter Complete Count in C10.
  6. In D10, type =COUNTIF(D2:D7,"Complete") and press Enter. Adjust the ending row if your list is longer.
  7. Enter Needs Training Count in C11.
  8. In D11, type =COUNTIF(D2:D7,"Needs Training") and press Enter.
  9. Use F2 to inspect a copied IF formula and confirm its row references changed.
  10. Use Ctrl+Grave Accent to show formulas if available, then press it again to return to results.
  11. Save the workbook as Excel-Lesson-6.xlsx.

JAWS help: Press Insert+Spacebar, then J, to search JAWS commands when you forget a keystroke. Ribbon KeyTips can differ slightly by Microsoft 365 update, so Alt+Q search is included where useful.

Your assignment

Create a six-person training-hours tracker that automatically labels each person Complete or Needs Training and counts both results.

Save the finished assignment as Excel-Lesson-6.xlsx.

Before submitting