How to use DSUM() and DCOUNT() in Microsoft Excel?

I used ChatGpt to understand how to do this! See what I got as an answer - so blogging this !!

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The DSUM() and DCOUNT() functions in Excel are part of Excel’s database functions, which allow you to perform operations based on specific criteria within a table-like range (database).

1. DSUM() Function

The DSUM() function sums the values in a specified field (column) of a database that meet specific criteria.

Syntax:

excel
DSUM(database, field, criteria)

• database: The range of cells that makes up the database (including headers).
• field: The column to sum, which can be the column header (in quotes) or the column number.
• criteria: The range that contains the conditions for selecting rows.

Example:

Let's say you have the following data in the range A1:C6:

Name	Age	Salary
John	28	50000
Jane	34	60000
Mike	28	55000
Anna	40	70000
Chris	34	48000

You want to sum the salaries for people aged 28. You can set up the criteria in another range, say E1:F2, where you define the criteria like this:

Age
28

Then, use the formula:

excel
=DSUM(A1:C6, "Salary", E1:F2)

This will sum the salaries of people aged 28 (John and Mike), resulting in 50000 + 55000 = 105000.

2. DCOUNT() Function

The DCOUNT() function counts the cells that contain numbers in a specific field of a database that match given criteria.

Syntax:

excel
DCOUNT(database, field, criteria)

• database: The range of cells that contains the database.
• field: The field (column) to count, which can be the column header or column number.
• criteria: The range that contains the conditions for selecting rows.

Example:

Using the same data, if you want to count the number of people aged 34, you set up the criteria in E1:F2 like this:

Age
34

Then, use the formula:

excel
=DCOUNT(A1:C6, "Age", E1:F2)

This will count how many people have the age 34 (Jane and Chris), resulting in 2.

Notes:

• The criteria range can be more complex with multiple columns (e.g., filtering by both age and salary).
• The field argument can be the column header (e.g., "Age", "Salary") or the index of the column (e.g., 2 for the second column).