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How to Sum and Get Totals for an Entire Row in Google Sheets

Summing rows and getting totals in Google Sheets is an essential skill for anyone working with spreadsheets. Whether you’re tracking expenses, analyzing sales data, or summarizing survey responses, knowing how to quickly sum rows saves time and effort.

In this article, we’ll walk through the steps for summing rows and getting totals in Google Sheets using the built-in SUM function.

Why Sum Rows in Google Sheets

Here are some of the key reasons you may want to sum rows in Google Sheets:

  • Track expenses or sales totals – Sum rows to get totals for expenses, income, sales, etc. across multiple rows. This allows you to analyze spending trends over time.
  • Analyze survey data – If you conduct online surveys with Google Forms, you can have the responses automatically populate a Google Sheet. Summing the rows gives you totals for survey questions.
  • Summarize grades or scores – Teachers often track grades or test scores in spreadsheets. Summing rows provides class or assignment totals and averages.
  • Consolidate data from multiple sources – If you copy data into a sheet from different sources, summing rows lets you roll-up and compare data.

Summing rows saves the hassle of manually calculating totals with a calculator and also ensures your totals update automatically when new data is added.

How to Sum an Entire Row in Google Sheets

Google Sheets includes a built-in SUM() function that makes summing rows simple. Here are the steps to sum an entire row:

Step 1: Select the Row

Click on the row number to select the entire row. This highlights the whole row including all columns.

Select Row in Google Sheets

Step 2: Click the SUM Function

In the toolbar at the top, click the sigma Σ symbol to open the SUM function.

Step 3: Confirm Row Selection

In the SUM function that pops up, you should see a cell range like B14:Z14 that confirms the row selection.

Step 4: Press Enter

Press Enter and the SUM() function will be inserted with the total for the entire row.

That’s it! Google Sheets sums up all numbers across the row and provides the total.

Summing Multiple Rows at Once

You can also sum multiple rows at the same time using Google Sheets:

Step 1: Select Multiple Rows

Click and drag across multiple row numbers to select them.

Step 2: Open SUM Function

In the toolbar, open the SUM() function.

Step 3: Confirm Rows Selected

Verify multiple rows are selected like B14:Z16.

Step 4: Get Total for All Rows

Press Enter to get the total for all selected rows added together.

This provides the summed total across multiple rows, helping you efficiently calculate the total for large data sets.

Handy Tips for Summing Rows

Here are some useful tips when summing rows in Google Sheets:

  • Use SUM vs manual totaling – Always use the SUM() function instead of manually totaling cells with a formula like =B14+C14+D14. SUM automatically updates.
  • Match data types – SUM only totals numbers. Any text or logical values are ignored. Use VALUE() to convert text numbers to numeric.
  • Sum visible rows – Filtered rows are ignored by default in the SUM. Use SUMIF() to sum visible rows only after filtering.
  • Sum entire column – Click the column letter to quickly sum an entire column instead of a row.

Conclusion

Whether you need to sum a single row, multiple rows, or an entire column, the built-in SUM() function makes finding totals in Google Sheets fast and easy.

By following the steps outlined in this guide, you’ll be able to:

  • Easily sum any row in one click
  • Select and total multiple rows together
  • Get updatable totals instead of manual calculations

Knowing how to leverage the SUM() function will save you significant time in analyzing and summarizing spreadsheet data.

So next time you need to total a row in Google Sheets, use the techniques covered here to work smarter instead of harder!

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