The DMIN function in Excel is used to find the minimum value in a specified field (column) of a database for the entries that meet certain criteria. It is particularly useful for filtering data and then performing the minimum operation on the filtered set.
Here’s how to use the DMIN function:
Syntax
DMIN(database, field, criteria)
- database: This is the range of cells that makes up the database. The first row of this range should contain the column headers.
- field: This indicates which column you’re interested in. You can specify a field by using its column header (enclosed in quotes) or its position number in the database (1 for the first column, 2 for the second column, etc.).
- criteria: This is the range of cells that contains the conditions you want to apply. It’s important that the criteria range includes at least one column label and at least one cell below the label that specifies the condition.
Example
Suppose you have a database in the range `A1:C10` that includes columns named “Product”, “Sales”, and “Date”, and you want to find the minimum sales for a specific product, let’s say “Apples”.
Steps:
=DMIN(A1:C10, "Sales", E1:E2)
- Set Up Your Data: Make sure your data range (`A1:C10`) is structured so that the first row contains the column headers.
- Define Criteria: Somewhere on your sheet, set up a criteria range. For example, in the range `E1:E2`, you could put the text “Product” in cell `E1` and “Apples” in cell `E2`.
- Enter the DMIN Formula: Use the DMIN function to calculate the minimum sales for “Apples”. Enter the following formula in any cell:
Or, if you prefer using the column index, you could specify the `field` as `2` if “Sales” is the second column in the database:
=DMIN(A1:C10, 2, E1:E2)
Tips
- Ensure that your criteria range is correctly set up to filter the data.
- If you’re using text for specifying the `field`, ensure it matches exactly the column header.
- The criteria range can contain multiple conditions across different columns, spanning multiple rows to apply AND/OR logic.
By following these steps, you can effectively use the DMIN function to find minimum values based on specified criteria in your Excel database.
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