Brother International PDP350CJ Owner's Manual - English - Page 167

Using Built-in Functions in Formulas Built-in functions perform common calculations automatically. You use them in formulas to simplify your work. For example, the SUM function totals a group of numbers; the AVG function computes the average of a group of numbers; and the NPV function computes the net present value of an investment. Spreadsheet provides functions you can use to perform the following types of calculations: S Financial S Information S Logical S Math S Print S Statistical S String S Time and Date S Trigonometric This section gives the general procedures for using built-in functions. Descriptions of each of the built-in functions are included in the Appendix. Keywords and arguments Each built in function includes a keyword like SUM or AVG. Most functions also require that you specify arguments. Arguments are the data that functions use in a calculation, such as the numbers you want to total. An argument can be a value, text string, reference, function, or formula. The arguments determine the result of the function. For example, the financial function PMT calculates the payment required for a loan. The arguments for the PMT function are the principal amount, interest rate, and term of the loan. The illustration at the left shows how you might use the PMT function to compute a loan payment. Cell A1 contains the following formula: =PMT(10000,8.75%/12,48). This formula uses the PMT function to tell Spreadsheet to compute the monthly loan payment for a 48-month loan of $10,000 at an interest rate of 8.75% per year. Spreadsheet 153