Helper column

[austenr]

Can someone explain how to use one and when to use one? Also a working example would be great. Thanks.

[Paul_Hossler]

Simple example --

Col A contains list of 10 character items and you need to sort them by characters 5-8

Col B could be the helper col with a formula =Mid(A2,5,4)

Sorting Col B will also sort the associated Col A items

Paul

[Bob Phillips]

Helper cell should always be used in two situations in my view

- to avoud overly-complex formulae by breaking them down into simpler, intermediate formulae, so as to ease maintainability and auditability

- to improve performance by reducing the number of cells recalculated in the calculation chain