how to: if a value is entered in one row, then associated data iscummulatively added to a 'total' on

[hermes]

Excel Version : 12.2.3
OS X 10.6.2
Intel

Hi — I am very new to Excel, and am learning a lot, but have found it
difficult to work out a new problem. I am trying to nut out a formula
to do the following (I have searched all over, but realise I don't
really know what my search terms should be).

For arguments sake, I have two worksheets, A and B. Worksheet A is
used as a meta-summary of what will happen elsewhere in the Workbook.
Worksheet B is where the raw data is entered (as it will in C, D, E,
etc, in the future). I have created a drop down list of categories for
use in Worksheet B. What I wish to happen is:

If one of the terms in the dropdown list is selected in, say, cell A1
of Worksheet B, then an associated value in B1 is automatically and
*cummulatively* added *back to* a summary cell in Worksheet A.

Any help or advice would be very appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Carl Witthoft]

You can't really add a "cumulative" value to a single cell, as a cell
contains either a value or a fixed formula, not both.

How many drop-down cells do you intend to have? One per row, as you
imply in your post, sounds very excessive.
Perhaps you can describe in more detail exactly what you want summarized
and we can point you to things like SUMIF and VLOOKUP to simplify your
task.

Carl