Welcome to my blog! I'm excited to introduce you to the power of Excel's Lambda functions. I recently recorded a video on this topic, and in this post, I'll give you a brief overview of what I covered. Watching the video will provide a clear understanding of how to use Lambda functions to create custom and reusable components in Excel. Click here to go to youtube video. What Is Lambda? Lambda is one of the best features in Excel, allowing us to create custom functions that can be reused across multiple projects. If you've ever wished you could create invocable functions in VBA, Lambda is the answer. Getting Started with Lambda Creating custom functions with Lambda is straightforward. You can define functions with parameters, optional parameters, or even no parameters at all: No Parameters: Create functions that don't require any input, like the TODAY function, which updates automatically. Parameters: Define functions that accept one or more parameters to perform calculations or return specific values. Optional Parameters: Set up functions with optional parameters for added flexibility. Example: Sequence and Month Names For example, you can create a function that returns a sequence from 1 to 12, representing the months of the year. Then, use the TEXT function to convert these numbers into month names like January, February, and March. This Lambda doesn't need any parameters and can be invoked by its name. Using Excel Lab Add-In To save and use your Lambda functions easily, I recommend using the Excel Lab add-in. Install it from the Developer tab by selecting Add-ins, choosing 'Store', and searching for "Excel Lab". Once added, you can save and use your Lambda functions just like any built-in Excel function. Advanced Usage: Filtering Data For more advanced usage, create a Lambda that filters data. For example, if you have stock data and want to select only the high price columns, you can create a Lambda that accepts a data array and a column suffix to filter the columns based on the suffix. Steps to Create This Lambda: Create Input Array and Header Suffix: Use CHOOSEROWS to get the headers and apply criteria to filter columns based on the suffix. Optional Parameters: Make the suffix an optional parameter. If not provided, the function will return all data. Flexibility and Power In summary, Lambda functions in Excel offer incredible flexibility. You can define functions with mandatory parameters, optional parameters, or even optional Lambda parameters. This capability allows you to create powerful, reusable components that enhance your productivity in Excel. For a deeper dive, watch the full video on my YouTube channel. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. Happy Excel-ing!
