If you simply require viewing the calculation of multiple cells that contain negative and positive numbers then select the range of cells and look at the Status bar in Excel. =3-2*10 = 17 The example of subtracting a range of cells Without parenthesis, through subtraction came first from the left, it was first multiplied and then subtracted. In formulas where parenthesis is used, Excel first subtracted and then multiplied. See an example below where I used multiple operators for calculation. + and – (that comes first from the left)įor learning more about Excel’s order of calculation, you may read the details here./ and * (which comes first from the left).The following order is used for calculation: The Excel follows the calculation order if you are using multiple operators in the formula. The following example displays the subtracted result of three cells (A, B, C) in the respective D cells. =10-5 An example of subtracting cells numbers The Excel will subtract the numbers and display the result in that cell. You can see, the numbers are typed directly in the cell preceded by the ‘=’. Alternatively, go to the formula bar and right the numbers for subtraction as shown below: The example of subtracting numbersįor subtracting numbers, you may directly write the numbers with minus sign in the desired cell. See the following section for using the minus operator in different examples. In that case, the cells containing negative values will be subtracted. For example:įor subtracting numbers in cell ranges, you may use the SUM function. Instead, you may accomplish the task of subtracting numbers or a cell’s value from the other by using the minus arithmetic operator (-).

Subtract excel formula