Find Absolute value using ABS function

In this post we will understand a very basic function ABS which returns value/magnitude. Like for ABS(-9) will return 9, ABS(10) will return 10 and so on. Table mentioned below is example which will help you in understanding the ABS function. Also, we will discuss one application of this formula. I would appreciate if you can spend some time write comment and do let us know if you have any issues. We are here to help.

Copy paste the table starting from A1 cell of your MS Excel sheet.

Number	Absolute Value	Formula
25	25	=ABS(A2)
-62	62	=ABS(A3)
-3.5	3.5	=ABS(A4)
3.5	3.5	=ABS(A5)

Formula:
=ABS(Address Of Cell)

Examples:
In the example below, we are describing a model of target-actual table. Fifth column shows the percentage of actual exceeded/shortfall. Table 1 will illustrate calculation without ABS function while table 2 will describe using ABS function.


Difference for 7-Mar-06 is negative as actual has exceeded target and hence the percentage appear as negative. No matter whether you have achieved or not but percentage cannot be negative.

Table 1

Date	Target	Actual	Difference	Exceeded/Shortfall Percentage
1-Mar-06	40	37	3	7.50%
4-Mar-06	54	54	0	0.00%
7-Mar-06	60	65	-5	-8.33%
			Target - Actual

Table 2

Date	Target	Actual	Difference	Exceeded/Shortfall Percentage
1-Mar-06	40	37	3	7.50%
4-Mar-06	54	54	0	0.00%
7-Mar-06	60	65	5	8.33%
			ABS(Target - Actual)

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