See all Microsoft Excel tips
Strategy: Follow these steps:
1) Select a cell next to the first revenue cell.
2) Type an Equal sign. Hit the Left Arrow.
3) Type the Forward Slash (/) sign. Hit the Left Arrow. Type the End key. Hit the Down Arrow. Your cell pointer should now be on the total cell. Type the F4 key. The formula bar should now show B2/ $B$17, as shown in Fig. 424.
4) Hit Ctrl+Enter to enter the formula and stay in the current cell. Format the calculation as a percentage using the % icon, as shown in Fig. 425.
5) If you wish to use
a format of 9.2 percent instead of 9 percent, then choose the Increase Decimal button, as shown in Fig. 426.
6) In cell C2, double-click the Fill handle to copy the formula down to the other rows.
7) Add a heading for “% of Total”.
Additional Details: The key element of this procedure is hitting the F4 key to add dollar signs to the reference for the total row. As you copy the formula from C2 to C16, the formula is always going to compare the revenue in the current row to the total revenue in row 17, as shown in Fig. 427.
Summary: Creating a Percentage of Total is a common task in Excel. Being able to quickly enter an initial formula that can be copied to all cells is a good technique to have in your skill set.
See all Microsoft Excel tips