Microsoft KB Archive/214316

= XL2000: Order of Operations Performed in Formulas =

Article ID: 214316

Article Last Modified on 11/5/2003

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q214316





SUMMARY
When you combine several operators into a single formula, Microsoft Excel performs the operations in the following order:   :                 Range space            Intersection ,                Union -                Negation %                Percentage ^                Exponentiation * or /           Multiplication or division + or -           Addition or subtraction &                Text operator = < > <= >= <>   Comparison operators



MORE INFORMATION
If you want to alter this order, use parentheses to group expressions in your formula. Excel calculates the expression in parentheses, and then uses those results to calculate the formula.

For example, the following formula

=(5*4+2)

returns a value of 22, while the formula

=5*(4+2)

returns a value of 30.

NOTE: This order of operations is different from the order of operations in Lotus 1-2-3.

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

