Autosum

What is the Autosum Excel function?

The Autosum Excel function can be accessed by typing ALT + the = sign in a spreadsheet, and it will automatically create a formula to sum all the numbers in a continuous range.  This function is a great way to speed up your financial analysis.  It allows you to easily add up a series of numbers either vertically or horizontally without having to use the mouse or even the arrow keys on the keyboard!

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How Autosum Excel works

The Autosum Excel shortcut is very simple – just type two keys:

ALT =

Step 1: place the cursor below the column of numbers you want to sum (or to the left of the row of numbers you want to sum).

Step 2: hold down the Alt key and then press the equals = sign while still holding Alt.

Step 3: press Enter.

Example of the Autosum Excel function

Here are two screenshots of the Autosum Excel shortcut in action.

The first example shows the Autosum formula being used in a vertical series of numbers, and the second example shows the formula used on a horizontal series of numbers.

It’s important to place your cursor in the correct place before pressing “Alt =”.

See Excel screenshots example below:

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More Excel guides

Thank you for reading this CFI guide to using the Autosum Excel shortcut to speed up your financial analyst work in spreadsheets.  To keep learning and advancing your career, CFI highly recommends these additional resources:

• Excel for dummiesExcel for BeginnersThis Excel for beginners guide teaches you everything you need to know about Excel spreadsheets and formulas to perform financial analysis. Watch the Video and learn everything a beginner needs to know from what is Excel, to why do we use, and what are the most important keyboard shortcuts, functions, and formulas
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• Important Excel formulasExcel Formulas Cheat SheetCFI's Excel formulas cheat sheet will give you all the most important formulas to perform financial analysis and modeling in Excel spreadsheets. If you want to become a master of Excel financial analysis and an expert on building financial models then you've come to the right place.
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