by Natalia Sharashova, updated on
This blog post covers those Google Sheets functions that Excel doesn't have. They are conveniently classified by Google based on their primary task. So just pick the group from the table of contents below and you'll find their descriptions with the simplest examples.
Did you know Google Sheets has some features that you won't find in Excel? I'm speaking about some very useful spreadsheet functions that will certainly lighten your work. Some of them help import and filter your data, others manage your text. But no matter their task, all of them are worth to be mentioned.
The first group embraces those Google Sheets functions, that you're unlikely to meet in Excel even as tools.
Typically, Google Sheets formulas work with one cell at a time. But having the entire range of cells scanned and calculated would save your time drastically. This is when Google Sheets array formulas come to play.
Array formulas are like more powerful upgraded formulas. They process not just one cell but entire ranges of cells – as many rows or columns as your formula contains. Besides, they make non-array formulas work with arrays, too!
In Excel, you have to keep in mind that you're entering an array formula because you are to finish it not with just Enter but Ctrl+Shift+Enter. The curly brackets at both ends of the formula will let you know you've succeeded.
In Google Sheets, this was solved with a special function:
You put your entire Google Sheets formula with ranges inside those standard round brackets and finish as usual – by hitting Enter.
The simplest example would be with the IF function for Google Sheets.
Suppose you have a table with the results of a short survey on Sheet1. The table is linked to a form, so it is being updated constantly. Column A contains respondents' names and column B contains their answers – yes or no.
You need to display the names of those who said yes on Sheet2.
While IF usually refers to one cell, Google Sheets ARRAYFORMULA makes your IF process all names and responses at once. Here's the formula to use on Sheet2:
=ARRAYFORMULA( IF(Sheet1!$B$2:$B$100="yes", Sheet1!$A$2:$A$100, ""))
Have you ever wondered if it's possible to track currency exchange rates in Sheets? Or how much does some item from the imported table cost in your country's currency? And how much did it cost a week ago? A month or a year ago?
Google Sheets answers all these and some more questions with the GOOGLEFINANCE function. It connects to Google Finance servers and fetches the current or historical financial information right to your spreadsheet.
Other arguments are optional and their usage depends on what you're trying to get:
Tip. You can find the full list of attributes on this page devoted to GOOGLEFINANCE.
Let's fetch the current stock price of Google from the American stock exchange called Nasdaq:
=GOOGLEFINANCE("NASDAQ:GOOG", "price")
In a similar fashion, you can retrieve the info on stock prices for the last 7 days:
=GOOGLEFINANCE("NASDAQ:GOOG", "price", "9/13/2019", 7, 1)
GOOGLEFINANCE also helps to fetch currency exchange rates:
=GOOGLEFINANCE("CURRENCY:EURGBP")
=GOOGLEFINANCE("CURRENCY:GBPUSD")
=GOOGLEFINANCE("CURRENCY:USDCAD")
Or I can check the exchange rates from the same day a year ago:
=GOOGLEFINANCE("CURRENCY:USDCAD", "price", "9/20/2018")
Having pictures in your spreadsheets can be useful, especially for educational purposes. You can incorporate images to drop-down lists to promote the work with your data to the next level.
To supply your data with some artwork, the arsenal of Google Sheets functions includes IMAGE:
Note. Don't confuse the address of the picture with the page where the image resides. The URL of the picture can be retrieved by right-clicking the image itself and choosing Copy image address from its context menu.
To add an image to Google Sheets so it matches the size of the cell, it is enough to mention only the URL of the picture in the formula. So, I enlarge the row a bit and use the following:
=IMAGE("https://cdn.ablebits.com/_img-blog/google-sheets-functions-not-xl/Strawberry.png")
If you want to insert image and stretch it so it fills the cell entirely, it is the mode #2 for the formula:
=IMAGE("https://cdn.ablebits.com/_img-blog/google-sheets-functions-not-xl/Blueberry.png", 2)
As you can see, this mode doesn't look too appealing. Let's try the next one.
There's an option to keep the original size of the image. Mode #3 will assist:
=IMAGE("https://cdn.ablebits.com/_img-blog/google-sheets-functions-not-xl/Blackberry.png", 3)
Obviously, the cell doesn't expand automatically. So I believe this way is only useful if you have small pictures or adjust cells by hand.
The last mode (#4) allows you to set the custom width and height of the image in pixels directly in the formula:
=IMAGE("https://ableb_images.s3.amazonaws.com/_img-blog/google-sheets-functions-not-xl/Raspberry.png", 4, 100, 100)
Since my images are square, I set 100 pixels by 100. It's clear that the picture still doesn't fit in the cell. But I kept it that way just to show that you should be ready to adjust your cells for all 4 modes.
I believe QUERY in Google Sheets is the most comprehensive and powerful function you can find. It is used in so many different ways that I'm not sure I can list, let alone count them all.
It can fully substitute Google Sheets FILTER function, and, in addition, it has the capabilities of COUNT, SUM, and AVERAGE function. Well... too bad for them!
Formulas built with Google Sheets QUERY let you handle large datasets right in your spreadsheets. For that, a special Query Language is used – a set of commands that regulate what the function does.
Tip. If you're familiar with databases, these commands may remind you of SQL.
Tip. Don't want to figure out any commands? I hear you. ;) Hop to this part of the post to try the tool that will build Google Sheets QUERY formulas for you.
Tip. You can find a full list of available clauses and the order of their appearances in the formula on this page created by Google for you.
Note. All clauses should be entered in double-quotes.
There's so much this function can do and so many use cases it can cover! But I'm going to demonstrate only a few of the simplest examples.
To return your entire table from Sheet1, you need to use the select command and an asterisk (*) that represents all data:
=QUERY(Sheet1!A1:C10, "select *")
Tip. If you don't need the entire table and you'd rather pull certain columns, just list them instead of the asterisk:
=QUERY(Sheet1!A1:C10, "select A,C")
The clause where lets you specify the condition that should be met in order to return the values. This endows Google Sheets QUERY with filtering powers.
=QUERY(Sheet1!A1:C10, "select A,C where C > 1950")
Tip. You are free to specify as many conditions for as many columns within one formula as you need.
Surprisingly enough, Google Sheets QUERY can also play the role of the sorting tool. A special command called order by is used for this purpose.
You just type in the column to sort by and then specify the order: ASC for ascending and DESC for descending.
Let's fetch the whole table and sort movies A to Z:
=QUERY(Sheet1!A1:C10, "select A,B,C order by A DESC")
Formulas are great and all, but if you have neither the time nor desire to dig into them, this add-on will help you immensely.
Multiple VLOOKUP Matches does a v-lookup from another sheet. Despite its name, the tool uses Google Sheets QUERY function to return selected multiple columns from another sheet.
Why QUERY? Because it's language allows more than just a vertical lookup. It searches columns in all directions and gets you all matches based on multiple criteria.
To work with the add-on, you don't need to know any of the QUERY clauses at all. And setting up those v-lookup multiple criteria has never been easy:
And all of these in just one quick step:
The bottom part of the add-on is the Preview area where the QUERY formula is being built. The formula changes right while you set up conditions, so you always see it up-do-date.
It also shows you the vlookup searches returned. To get them in your sheet along with the formula, simply select the cell where to put them and press Insert formula. If you don't need the formula at all, get only matches pasted to your sheet by hitting Paste result.
Anyway, you can install Multiple VLOOKUP Matches to your spreadsheets from the Google Workspace Marketplace to prove me right ;) Also, make sure to visit the add-on home page to get to know it better.
Some time ago we explained how to build charts in spreadsheets. But Google Sheets SPARKLINE is your way to quickly create the simplest charts right in cells.
While Excel has this feature as a tool, in spreadsheets, it is a small function:
The function is a really great substitute for the big old chart, especially if you're short on time or a place for the chart.
I have a list of incomes over the year. Let's try and build small charts based on that data.
I merge 4 cells for the chart to look good and enter the following formula there:
=SPARKLINE(B2:B13)
I've got a line chart because it is set by default for when you don't specify anything but the range of cells.
To change the type of the chart, I will need to use the first clause – charttype – followed by the type of the chart itself – column.
Note. Each command should be wrapped in double-quotes while the entire pair put to curly brackets.
=SPARKLINE(B2:B13, {"charttype","column"})
The next thing I'm going to do is specify the colour.
Note. Each new pair of clauses should be separated from the previous one by a semicolon.
=SPARKLINE(B2:B13, {"charttype", "column";"color", "orange"})
Google Sheets SPARKLINE lets you set different hues for the lowest and highest records, specify how to treat blanks, etc.
Tip. A full list of commands can be found on this help page.
Another group of functions helps to filter and sort data in spreadsheets.
I know, I know, filter exists in Excel. But only as a tool that is applied to your master table. And yes, Google spreadsheets have the same tool as well.
But the FILTER function in Google Sheets keeps your original data intact and returns the desired rows and columns somewhere nearby.
Though it's not as mighty as QUERY, it is easier to learn and will do to get some quick excerpts.
This Google Sheets function is super straightforward:
Only two parts are required: range for the data to filter and condition1 for the rule the filter relies on. The number of criteria depends on your task, so other conditions are completely optional.
If you remember, I had a shortlist of fruits and their prices. Here's how Google Sheets FILTER gets me those fruits that cost more than $5:
=FILTER(A2:B10, B2:B10>5)
In case the table contains duplicate values, you can retrieve those rows that are mentioned only once. The UNIQUE function for Google Sheets will help. With it, it is a question of the range only:
Here's how it may look on your data:
=UNIQUE(A1:B10)
Tip. Since UNIQUE is case-sensitive, bring your values to the same text case beforehand using the ways from this tutorial.
Ever wondered how to count unique records in Google Sheets instead of pulling them to a separate list? Well, there's a function that does that:
You can enter as many values as you need right into the formula, refer cells from there, or use real data ranges.
Note. Unlike UNIQUE, the function cannot count entire rows. It deals with individual cells only. Thus, each new cell in another column will be treated as unique.
Yet another simple Google Sheets function that doesn't exist in Excel and can belittle the standard tool. ;)
For this example, I am sorting fruits by price:
=SORT(A2:B10, 2, TRUE)
Tip. A couple more extra arguments – and Google Sheets SORT function turns into SORTN. It returns only the specified number of rows rather than the whole table:
=SORTN(A2:B10, 5, , 2, TRUE)
Tip. You can read more about Google Sheets SORTN on its Docs Editor Help page.
The functions for these tasks are called the same: SPLIT and JOIN.
Tip. ARRAYFORMULA enables me to enter and process the entire column, not just one cell. Cool, huh? :)
=ARRAYFORMULA( SPLIT(A2:A24, " "))
=JOIN(" ", A2:D2)
Were it not for some certain Google Sheets functions, importing data from other spreadsheets and the Web would be a pain in the neck.
The IMPORTRANGE function lets you pull data from another document in Google Sheets:
You just specify a spreadsheet by providing its spreadsheet_url and enter the range – range_string – that you want to retrieve.
Note. The first time you reference another file, the formula will return the error. No need to panic. The thing is, before IMPORTRANGE for Google Sheets can fetch the data, you will have to grant it the permissions to access another spreadsheet. Just hover your mouse over that error and you'll see a button that will help you do that:
=IMPORTRANGE("https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1V8IjzfD9EiwfkV2wBx8KgJ9g3GQGQOyl3_P3Go/edit","Sheet1!A1:B10")
Tip. I discussed IMPORTRANGE in details in one of the previous blog posts, come take a look. :)
These two functions are designed to import data from various internet pages.
Replace that url with a link to your source page or with a reference to a cell with such a link.
Specify the url to the page with a table; decide if you want to get a list or a table for query; and if there are several tables or lists on the page, point the function to the correct one by supplying its number:
=IMPORTHTML( "https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories", "table", 1)
Tip. There's also IMPORTFEED that imports RSS or ATOM feed, and IMPORTXML that pulls data from data structured in different ways (including XML, HTML, and CSV).
There's a small group of simple functions – parsers – that convert your number to:
=TO_DATE(43, 882.00)
=TO_DOLLARS(43, 882.00)
And a small group of operators that can be used in formulas to compare or calculate. You'll find them in one group of operators on this page.
…Phew! What a crowd of Google Sheets functions! :)
Can you believe they don't exist in Excel? Who would have thought? I bet lots of them take Google Sheets a step further in processing your data.
If there are any other functions that you've discovered in spreadsheets that don't fit in Excel, hurry up and share them with us in the comments section below! ;)
Table of contents