Excel Hints & Tips - Producing Example Data

In: BlogDate: Jul 17, 2013By: Chris James

Ever needed to produce a large set of random numbers on your spread sheet quickly? This blog will tell you how.

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In the example below we produce a large set of numbers between 1 and 100.

Step 1: Click into any cell and type =INT(RAND()*100)

The RAND (Random) function returns a value between 0 and 1. We then multiply this by 100 to get a value between 0 and 100, we also nests-in the INT function (Integer) in order to drop off the decimal places.

 

 

Step 2: Use AutoFill to extend the formula – this will produce as many random numbers as you desire

 

 

Step 3: Copy the generated numbers and then do a Paste Special à Values, in order to crystalize the values themselves – otherwise every time the spreadsheet recalculates RAND produces a new set of randomly generated numbers to replace the previous values.

 

 

In this example we multiplied RAND’s fractional number by 100, although clearly we could multiply by any amount we need, in order to produce values of any particular deviation.

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Chris James

Chris was an Associate Trainer for Happy between 2012 and 2016.

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