Functions for "current" & "previous" month to calculate data

[Priss]

Hi -
Working with (2)spreadsheets: 2008 and 2007 for comparison. Need assistance
with writing formula to recognize on 2008 spreadsheet to calculate "previous"
month, current if there is no data for "current" month. Right now I have:
=IF(AND(MONTH(TODAY()),TRUE),SOURCE_2008!E6-SOURCE_2007!E6) whereas it's
looking in a specific cell, which I rather not. Is this possible? Some
columns report "current" data and others "previous".

 

[Fred Smith]

Your requirement isn't clear to me, but hopefully the following hints will
help you find your answer.

The current month is =month(today())
The previous month is =month(today())-1

Your formula has several problems with it.
First, your If statement doesn't say what to do when the condition is false.
Second, you never have to use And with True. True will always be true. So
you can simplify your statement to:
=IF(MONTH(TODAY()),SOURCE_2008!E6-SOURCE_2007!E6)
Third, you're not testing the month for anything. What should the month
equal?

Regards,
Fred.

 

[Priss]

Thanks for quick reply and my apologies for not being clear. Just driving me
nuts...
The months are always going to be current month and a month behind due to
data not being available. Not sure if that explains my needs. But I also
would not reference a certain row because the spreadsheet months are entered
column beside column. Other than having to go in and change the formula to
reference current month. Was hoping there was a way to skip that.

 

[Fred Smith]

Well, at least we are getting somewhere. But we need more information.

How do you know when to use the current month, and when to use the previous
month?

If it's the current month, what data do you want to pick up? Is it always
E6? Or is the column dependent on the month?

What calculation do you want to perform. Is it always the current year
(2008) less the previous year?

What happens when 2009 comes along?

Regards,
Fred.

 

[Priss]

The data is not always going to be in E6, depends on the month working left
to right which means F6 is April, G6 is May and so on.

The calculation will always be current - previous year. And when 2009 comes
into play, the plan is to duplicate calculating 2009-2008 for current and
previous month data.

 

[Fred Smith]

What you want is the Index function. It will take a range, and you can
specify the row and column within the range. Suppose your data is in the
Range Source_2008!A1:K20

=Index(Source_2008!a1:k20,6,month(today()))
will pick up cell D6 from that range, as the current month is 4 (April)

If you want to copy this formula to other rows, use:
=Index(Source_2008!a1:k20,row(a6),month(today()))

so that the formula will adjust for each row.

Within the Index function, you can use an If statement to decide whether you
want the current month or the previous month. If you need help with that,
let me know how you know whether you want the current or the previous month.

Hope this helps,
Fred

 

[Priss]

Well I certainly know I will need your help for previous and current month -
beginner at this. I am also trying to make sure I fully understand what is
going on. But I truely appreciate all you have done to help me thus far.

 

[Priss]

Now this is what I am working with now which works perfect for current 2008.
=INDEX(SOURCE_2008!B1:O121,6,MONTH(TODAY()))
I tried to include 2007 spreadsheet with calculation, but getting (#VALUE!).
Like I said, new to this.
=SUM(H9:INDEX(SOURCE_2008!B4:O14-SOURCE_2007!B4:O14,MONTH(TODAY())))

 

[Fred Smith]

I can see why you are getting the value error. But what are you trying to
do? We're good at Excel, but mindreading is not our strong suit.

Regards,
Fred.

 

[Priss]

I certainly understand...
I need to calculate the spreadsheets (2008 - 2007). But also want it
recognize previous month as well as current month in the function.

 

[Fred Smith]

Sorry, Priss, I'm not into playing games. When you're ready to provide the
information needed to solve your problem, let me know. Until then, I've got
better things to do.

Regards,
Fred.

 

[Priss]

You know what Fred, not sure what game you are referring to. I have provided
everything I thought was needed as well as code that I was trying to work
with. If you can't read, understand & have the patients to know that I am
"new" to this and even let you know that I appreciate you taking the time to
assist - then spend your time doing something more productive. I DON'T NEED
IT!! I think I can work better with someone that has more patients and don't
mind helping someone who admit they don't know.

Thank you...