Hi Reader,

Welcome to the Google Sheets Tips newsletter #254, your Monday morning espresso, in spreadsheet form!

➜ News

Lots of news coming out of the Google I/O conference last week!

I.
​Here's the session from I/O about how to extend Google Workspace with APIs, Apps, and AI.

​Watch the session here​

II.
​One of the most exciting announcements for Sheets users at Google I/O was Duet AI. It's a generative AI tool for Workspace apps. For Sheets, it will help with data classification and document generation.

​Check out Duet AI​

III.
​Google showcased Simple ML at the I/O conference. Simple ML is a Google Sheets addon (from Google) that allows you to do machine learning inside your Sheets without coding.

​Learn more about Simple ML​

IV.
​Here's a complete playlist of all the sessions from Google I/O, which will keep you busy for a while! ;)

​All Google I/O sessions​

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➜ Google Sheets Tip #254: Different ways to multiply a column

Suppose we have a column of values and we want to multiply them by a constant value.

For example, we want to multiply the values in column A by 3:

And this is the result we want, in column C:

The value in each row of column A has been multiplied by 3 (the value in cell B2).

Here are four ways to achieve this:

Method 1: Simple multiplication

Start with this formula in cell C2 and then drag it down the column to multiply each value by 3.

Note how we put the dollar signs ($) in front of the "B" and the "2" to create an absolute reference. This locks the formula to cell B2 to ensure we always use B2 as the multiplier.

Method 2: Array Formula

This is a simple array formula version of method 1, where each row is multiplied by B2.

Method 3: MMULT Formula

This method uses the rare MMULT function to do matrix multiplication.

It's imperative to get the order of the matrices correct, otherwise we get an error.

The first matrix (A2:A11) must have the same number of columns (1 in this case) as the number of rows in the second matrix (B2, again 1 in this case).

Method 4: BYROW + LAMBDA Formula

The final method I'll share here is to use the BYROW function, one of the modern lamba helper functions.

It's overkill in this simple example, but works really well for more complex array calculations.

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What do you think? Do you know any other methods for multiplying a column by a single value?

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Have a great week!

Cheers,
Ben

P.S. Every year I support my sister-in-law's fundraiser for Takoma Elementary School by donating a bundle of all my courses.

The full retail price is $899 and at the time of sending this email the current bid is $200.

It's a great opportunity to grab all my courses for a reduced price and support a good cause.

​Place your bid here!​

(See all the items in the auction here.)