When You Should Use the New Excel LET Function

Whether you're dealing with long formulas or seeking to enhance formula performance, this video is a game-changer for Excel users. Excel's new LET function can make your formulas easier to read and it can improve the performance of your formulas so they run faster. This applies to formulas that use the same expression (e.g. formulas, values) multiple times.

✨ Key Highlights:
▪️ Introduction to LET Function: Discover the basics and the availability of the LET function in Excel.
▪️ Syntax and Examples: Learn the syntax and see practical examples, including IF conditions and dynamic arrays.
▪️ Performance Improvement: Explore how the LET function can speed up your Excel formulas, especially in large datasets.
▪️ Real-Life Application: Detailed walkthrough of using LET in different scenarios, enhancing readability and efficiency.

In this video you'll learn the basics of the LET function and also find out in which situation the LET function can REALLY make a difference for you. I measured the time for a full calculation on a large data set for different scenarios. You'll be surprised when you see the results!

Note: LET function is not available in Excel 2019 or Excel 2016. Only in Excel for Microsoft 365.

00:00 Why use Excel's LET function
01:07 Availability and Syntax of Excel LET Function
03:12 Example of LET Function with IF Conditions
06:53 Example of LET Function with Multiple IF Conditions and Symbols
08:55 Does Excel LET Function REALLY Improve Performance?
11:03 LET Function with Excel Dynamic Arrays
14:46 Performance of Excel LET Function with Dynamic Arrays


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#excel

[CameronRex]

Thank you so much for pointing out the LET (and IFS) functions. This has drastically simplified a very complex formula we have been using. Our existing formula was 1615 characters in length, and with just the LET function it reduced the formula length to 487 characters. With a combination of the LET and IFS functions, it reduced the length of the formula to 469 characters.

Here is the end result using LET & IFS:

IFS(
Adj1_Graph_Type="Exponential", a*EXP(b*x),
Adj1_Graph_Type="Linear", a*x+b,
Adj1_Graph_Type="Logarithmic", a*LN(x)+b,
Adj1_Graph_Type="Polynomial (2 order)", a*x^2+b*x+c,
Adj1_Graph_Type="Polynomial (3 order)", a*x^3+b*x^2+c*x+d,
Adj1_Graph_Type="Polynomial (4 order)", a*x^4+b*x^3+c*x^2+d*x+e,
Adj1_Graph_Type="Power", a*x^b,
TRUE, ""))

While I have not measured any performance improvement, since I have only run a limited test, I am sure it is there.

[andrewmoss]

The addition of the LET function means that Excel formulas are basically becoming like a programming language where declaring variables is the norm.

[yash]

[6:17 (breaking up using alt + entere) is new to me and what i needed for so long. thanks for including that. and glad i clicked this vid.
7:53 conditional formatting

[nonoobott]

So brilliant. The LET function is so great. You're a an amazing teacher. Thanks for sharing

[rocsalt]

I've been grumbling that Excel should have this feature for years. Now i'm super excited!

[healthconnect]

Started watching your videos for the view and then realized that I learned lot of short cuts in excel. Thanks great job

[curlywurly]

Great video... as always :) When you have tables with long column names and these get repeated in formulas it can make them really hard to read, so using LET will make these much easier to read and maintain - all we have to do is look at the variable at the beginning and we'll see which columns this refers to throughout.

[excelisfun]

Let us all have more fun efficiency now that LET has arrived! Thanks, Teammate!

[Leontor]

Leila, I'm a heavy excel user and I love your videos ! You are always clear and to the point. Greetings from Brazil !

[Derivatives_Hunter]

Ma’am you are a great teacher... i found you just 2 days back and i have become crazy about your videos. Thank you so much🙏 from India

[millerlite]

A lot of the formulas i write for excel repeat sections of the formulas over and over so this will make them a lot shorter. thanks for the vid

[vijayarjunwadkar]

...and then God said, "LET" there be "Leila" and our Excel problems are solved! :-) Thank you for another great video!

[nathanmountain]

LET function is very useful . The LET function assigns names to calculation results. This allows storing intermediate calculations, values, or defining names inside a formula

[bazoo]

A very thorough treatment of this little useful function.
Speaking of performance, I remember how, about the time you were born, a 100 x 20 sheet was recalculated for several seconds (VisiCalc on Apple ][), and auto-recalc was usually turned off.

[reddrift]

That second example is crazy, I'm guessing because it can grab the complex function from the variable established, instead of reading it each time it is faster; however, when doing small calculations the time to set the variable initially ever so slightly outways the benefit in cost of time.
REALLY awesome stuff, can't wait for that official launch.

[helenasvensson]

What I great way to show how we can use Let! Thanks!

[IvanCortinas_ES]

A function LET in programming mode, declaring variables. Thank you for this fantastic tutorial Leila!

[PasangLepcha]

I have learnt so much from this channel ❤❤❤ it has really helped me in my work.

[Excelambda]

Great to see speed tests on LET function!!! Think it's the first one out here. Many thanks for that!!. A great advantage of LET is it's kind of portability. We can write a complex formula in one workbook, copying it as a string, pasting it in other workbook, changing only the variables reference addresses, and good to go. No VBA😉

[JHatLpool]

Great demonstrations here, especially the application beginning at 07:00.