If you mean "spreadsheet program", not necessarily. That's a standard used in Excel; in older spreadsheets, such as Lotus 1-2-3, the formula used to start with a plus sign instead. A minus could be used as well, if it was appropriate for the formula. However, nowadays it seems to have become quite standard for formulae to start with an equal sign.
If you mean in Excel, yes: you must always start a formula with an equal sign.
The combined sign has no special meaning. Any formula in Excel starts with an equal sign. To refer to a cell, you can write, for example, =A1. This can also be written as =+A1. The "+" isn't really necessary in this case. Most likely, a user started the formula with a "+" (out of old habit, since that's what people used to do in older spreadsheet programs), and Excel added the equal sign, which is required in Excel, automatically.
yes. a formula proves something. so you need to make it equal whatever its proving.
A formula with an equal sign
It has the same meaning as an equals sign anywhere else in mathematics.
Type = (equal sign) to begin a formula on a spreadsheet.
The equal sign(; ( = )
In most spreadsheet programs like Excel, you typically start a formula with an equal sign (=) to indicate that the following characters are part of a formula and should be calculated.
equal sign
A symbol at the beginning of a formula identifies the entry as a formula instead of a label. In an entry of =B3+C3, the equal sign identifies the entry as a formula.
An equal sign because in order for the formula to go through correctly it has to have an (=)
Every formula starts with equal sign =If you want to display list of all functions in Excel from the upper toolbar select: Insert - Function.
Excel formulas begin with an equal sign, for example:=SUM(A1:A7)will give you the total of the numbers in cells A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6 and A7.Array formulas start with = but are enclosed in brace bracket{}.You can also use the plus or minus sign to start a formula, but as soon as you press Enter, a plus will be converted into an equals sign and a minus sign will have an equals sign inserted before it, so the formula will still show as starting with an equals sign.+5+7 will become =5+7-10*2 will become =-10*2Lotus 123 was the big spreadsheet application before Excel. It used the @ sign to start its functions. In order to help people moving from using Lotus 123 to Excel, the ability to start functions with the @ sign was included in Excel, and you can still do that. This applies only to functions at the start of a formula, not any formula.
Every formula, equation, or function starts with a equal sign in a given cell.
If you mean in Excel, yes: you must always start a formula with an equal sign.
In an Excel spreadsheet and equals sign normally starts a formula. You can also start with a plus or minus or start a function with the @ symbol, because some spreadsheet applications use that, but they will be converted to an equals sign. The equals signs tells Excel that you are going to use a formula, so if you started a function without it, the function would be treated like a piece of text.In an Excel spreadsheet and equals sign normally starts a formula. You can also start with a plus or minus or start a function with the @ symbol, because some spreadsheet applications use that, but they will be converted to an equals sign. The equals signs tells Excel that you are going to use a formula, so if you started a function without it, the function would be treated like a piece of text.In an Excel spreadsheet and equals sign normally starts a formula. You can also start with a plus or minus or start a function with the @ symbol, because some spreadsheet applications use that, but they will be converted to an equals sign. The equals signs tells Excel that you are going to use a formula, so if you started a function without it, the function would be treated like a piece of text.In an Excel spreadsheet and equals sign normally starts a formula. You can also start with a plus or minus or start a function with the @ symbol, because some spreadsheet applications use that, but they will be converted to an equals sign. The equals signs tells Excel that you are going to use a formula, so if you started a function without it, the function would be treated like a piece of text.In an Excel spreadsheet and equals sign normally starts a formula. You can also start with a plus or minus or start a function with the @ symbol, because some spreadsheet applications use that, but they will be converted to an equals sign. The equals signs tells Excel that you are going to use a formula, so if you started a function without it, the function would be treated like a piece of text.In an Excel spreadsheet and equals sign normally starts a formula. You can also start with a plus or minus or start a function with the @ symbol, because some spreadsheet applications use that, but they will be converted to an equals sign. The equals signs tells Excel that you are going to use a formula, so if you started a function without it, the function would be treated like a piece of text.In an Excel spreadsheet and equals sign normally starts a formula. You can also start with a plus or minus or start a function with the @ symbol, because some spreadsheet applications use that, but they will be converted to an equals sign. The equals signs tells Excel that you are going to use a formula, so if you started a function without it, the function would be treated like a piece of text.In an Excel spreadsheet and equals sign normally starts a formula. You can also start with a plus or minus or start a function with the @ symbol, because some spreadsheet applications use that, but they will be converted to an equals sign. The equals signs tells Excel that you are going to use a formula, so if you started a function without it, the function would be treated like a piece of text.In an Excel spreadsheet and equals sign normally starts a formula. You can also start with a plus or minus or start a function with the @ symbol, because some spreadsheet applications use that, but they will be converted to an equals sign. The equals signs tells Excel that you are going to use a formula, so if you started a function without it, the function would be treated like a piece of text.In an Excel spreadsheet and equals sign normally starts a formula. You can also start with a plus or minus or start a function with the @ symbol, because some spreadsheet applications use that, but they will be converted to an equals sign. The equals signs tells Excel that you are going to use a formula, so if you started a function without it, the function would be treated like a piece of text.In an Excel spreadsheet and equals sign normally starts a formula. You can also start with a plus or minus or start a function with the @ symbol, because some spreadsheet applications use that, but they will be converted to an equals sign. The equals signs tells Excel that you are going to use a formula, so if you started a function without it, the function would be treated like a piece of text.
equal sign (=)