Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 10, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
One of the built-in functions provided with Excel is SUBTOTAL. This function is used automatically by Excel if you use the Subtotals option from the Data menu. If you learn to use the SUBTOTAL function by itself, however, you will find that it is very versatile and flexible. You can use it to procure more than just a simple subtotal, as the function name suggests.
The syntax for the SUBTOTAL function is as follows:
SUBTOTAL(function, refs)
In this syntax, the function is a value of 1 through 11, each representing a different way that SUBTOTAL can analyze your data. The settings have the following meanings:
| Function | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AVERAGE | |
| 2 | COUNT | |
| 3 | COUNTA | |
| 4 | MAX | |
| 5 | MIN | |
| 6 | PRODUCT | |
| 7 | STDEV | |
| 8 | STDEVP | |
| 9 | SUM | |
| 10 | VAR | |
| 11 | VARP |
Notice that you are not limited to just totaling information; you can perform quite a few different calculations on your data. The function settings refer to different Excel functions (AVERAGE, COUNT, etc.) that are used, in turn, by the SUBTOTAL function.
The refs setting in SUBTOTAL means the cells or cell ranges to which the SUBTOTAL function should be applied. You can separate individual cell references by commas, and you can include up to 29 references (if desired).
The beauty of the SUBTOTAL function is that it ignores any other occurrence of the SUBTOTAL function in a range. Thus, if you used SUBTOTAL at the bottom of a column of values, and there were three other instances of SUBTOTAL in that column, the bottom SUBTOTAL would ignore the other three.
Another neat feature of SUBTOTAL is that it only works with displayed data. Thus, if you had some rows hidden or filtered rows, those are ignored in the calculation.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2048) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
When working with finances, you often need to know the rate of return on a given investment. The most common type of ...
Discover MoreIf you want to add up the contents of a range of cells based on what is contained in a different range of cells, you need ...
Discover MoreThe primary method of rounding values is to use the ROUND function in your formulas. Here's an introduction to this ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments