Formula Watch: Keep an eye on large and small values with MIN and MAX

If you just want to spot check the smallest and largest values in a selected range of Excel cells, you can simply add MINIMUM and MAXIMUM to the status bar. But if you want these values to appear in your reports, you can save time by using the MIN and MAX functions.

Decide on where you want to place these values in your worksheet and how you want to label them and then type

=MAX(

into the cell where you want to display the largest value. Now select the range of cells you want this function to monitor. Or, better yet, select the entire column: This way any new values you add to the column will be included without having to revise the formula.

Once your range is selected, type the close ) and hit Enter. Now repeat for =MIN(

Alternatively, you could just type the values - which is easy when including an entire column:

=MAX(B:B)

=MIN(B:B)

Now you'll always have this key data available at a glance, ready to be cut and pasted into a slide deck or executive summary:

Suzanne