In Excel, the Sigma or Sum symbol is used to calculate the sum of a range of values in your worksheet. It is a quick and convenient method you can use, to sum up a particular range of cells, rows, or columns in seconds.
Not only that, using Sigma appropriately can help streamline your data and make data analysis a quick job. Excel offers a variety of methods that you can use to insert Sigma into your worksheet.
In this guide, we will learn each method in extensive detail. So without further ado, let’s get right into it.
Table of Contents
Copy and Paste the Sigma Symbol
The easiest way to insert Sigma into your worksheet is by copying and pasting it. Let’s see how to do it below.
To copy-paste the Sigma symbol,
- Select this uppercase symbol Σ and copy it to your clipboard using CTRL + C.
- Select the relevant cell where you want to paste the symbol.
- Right-click the cell, and from the drop-down menu, select Match Destination Formatting (M) under Paste Special.
The symbol will be pasted to the selected cell, as shown below.
Similarly, you can insert the lowercase Sigma symbol in Excel.
- Select and copy this symbol σ.
- Right-click the cell where you want to paste it.
- From the Paste options, select Match Destination Formatting (M).
And it’s done. You now have both the lowercase and uppercase Sigma symbols in your worksheet.
Pretty easy, no?
Insert Sigma Using the Symbol Font
If you’ve never used the Symbol typeface before, this method might strike you as unusual. What is a Symbol font, and how does it work? These must be the questions in your head. Let’s address them below.
The Symbol font is a typeface used in Excel like Arial, Calibri, etc. It works as you type different letters in your worksheet, and the font converts those letters to symbols. In a very similar way, we will enter a letter using the Symbol font to insert Sigma in our worksheet.
Want to see how? Read on.
To insert the symbol,
- Select the cell where you want to insert the symbol.
- Under the Home tab, right-click the Font box.
- Type Symbol in the box and press Enter.
- In the selected cell, enter capital S.
The letter S will be converted to uppercase Σ in your worksheet as:
Similarly, you can also insert lowercase Sigma in Excel – the key to that is lowercase s.
5. Type lowercase s in a cell.
And ta-da! It’s done. You can now make as many copies of Sigma as you like in a matter of seconds.
How cool is that?
Insert Sigma Using Keyboard Shortcuts
You can also insert the Sigma symbol in your worksheet using some cool keyboard shortcuts. It might take a couple of times worth of practice to memorize the shortcut, but once you do, inserting Sigma symbols is going to be fun.
Let’s see the shortcuts below.
To insert the uppercase Sigma symbol in Excel,
- Select cell A2.
- Press and hold the Alt key and type 228.
- Release the Alt key.
- It will return the Sigma symbol in the selected cell as:
For the lowercase Sigma symbol,
- Select cell B2.
- Press and hold the Alt key and type 229.
- Release the Alt key.
- The result will be a lowercase Sigma symbol in the cell as:
And you have it. How easy was that? Try it yourself now.
Insert Sigma Using the Insert Tab
Insert tab is the most commonly used method when it comes to inserting symbols. There are three different techniques you can use to insert Sigma in Excel using this method. Let’s see all these in detail below.
Insert Sigma Through Symbol Option
For uppercase Sigma,
- Select cell A2.
- Go to the Insert tab, and click on the Symbols option given at the end of the ribbon.
- Select Symbol from the dropdown.
- The symbol dialog box will appear on the screen.
- In the subset box, select Greek and Coptic from the dropdown.
- Select uppercase Sigma from the symbols and click Insert.
Uppercase Sigma will be inserted in the selected cell.
For lowercase Sigma,
- Select cell B2.
- Click on Symbols under the Insert tab at the end of the ribbon and select Symbol.
- The symbol dialog box will appear on the screen.
- In the subset box, select Greek and Coptic from the dropdown.
- Select lowercase Sigma from the symbols and click Insert.
And it’s done. The lowercase Sigma symbol will appear in the selected cell.
Pretty easy, no?
Insert Sigma Through Equation Option
You can also use the Equation option to insert the Sigma symbol in your Excel worksheet. It’s as easy as the method seen above.
To do that,
- Go to the Insert tab, and click on Symbols at the end of the ribbon.
- Select Equation from the dropdown.
- It will take you to a new Equation tab on the ribbon.
- Under the Symbols section, click on More to expand the symbols list.
- On the top right corner of the window, next to Basic Maths, is a drop down arrow.
- Click on the arrow and select Greek Letters from the dropdown.
- The symbols on the window will change to Lowercase and Uppercase.
- Click on the Sigma symbol in Uppercase to insert it.
A small text box will appear on the screen with the Sigma symbol in it. You can reposition it by moving it to the desired cell.
For lowercase Sigma Symbol,
- Go to the Insert tab and select the Symbols option at the end of the ribbon.
- From the dropdown, select Equation.
- An Equation tab will appear on the ribbon.
- Select More under Symbols to expand the symbols window.
- Click on Basic Maths in the top right corner and select Greek Letters from the dropdown.
- Select the Sigma symbol from the lowercase section.
The symbol will appear on the screen in a tiny box. You can reposition it to the relevant cell by moving it.
And it’s done! Pretty quick, right?
Insert Sigma Using Ink Equation
Ink equation lets you write a mathematical equation using your handwriting and then converts it to text, seeming as if it has been typed.
What we are going to do is draw the Sigma symbol using our handwriting in the Input Control box, and Excel will make it look like it was created digitally and not otherwise. Let’s now see how to do that below.
To insert the Sigma symbol using the Ink equation,
- Select a cell in a sheet to activate it.
- Go to the Insert tab and select Symbols at the end of the ribbon.
- From the dropdown, hover over the arrow under Equation and click it.
- It will open a list of different equations you can enter in Excel.
- Click on the Ink Equation given at the bottom.
This will open a Math Input Control window on the screen.
- Use your touchpad or mouse to draw an uppercase Sigma symbol on the notebook like area.
- Once done, click Insert on the window.
A small uppercase Sigma will appear on the screen in a text box. Reposition it to the relevant cell by moving it.
For inserting a lowercase Sigma symbol,
- Go to the Insert tab on the ribbon and click on the Symbols option at the end of the ribbon.
- From the dropdown, click on the arrow beneath Equation.
- This will open a list of equations you can insert in Excel.
- Select Ink Equation from the bottom of the list.
- The Math Input Control window will appear on the screen.
- In the small area containing gridlines, draw the lowercase Sigma symbol using your mouse or touchpad.
- Click Insert.
The lowercase Sigma symbol will appear on the screen in a tiny text box. Place it in the relevant cell by repositioning it, and it’s done.
Easy, right?
Insert Sigma Using Emoji Keyboard
You can also insert the Sigma symbol in Excel using the Windows emoji keyboard. It’s relatively easy and only takes a couple of seconds. Let’s see how to do it below.
To insert uppercase Sigma in Excel,
- Select cell A2.
- Press Windows and . (period) keys on your keyboard.
- A small Emoji window will appear on your screen.
- From the tabs above, select the last one with the Ω icon named Symbols.
- Scroll down and select the uppercase Sigma symbol.
It will appear in the worksheet.
For the lowercase Sigma symbol,
- Select cell B2.
- Press the Windows and . (period) keys on the keyboard.
- Click on the last Ω tab on the emoji window named Symbols.
- Scroll down and select the lowercase Sigma symbol.
And it’s done. The lowercase Sigma symbol will appear in the selected cell.
Insert Sigma Using UNICHAR Function
To insert the Sigma symbol in Excel using UNICHAR, you need to know its UNICHAR number. This method is just as easy as the ones we saw above. Let’s see how to use it below.
For the uppercase Sigma symbol,
- Select cell A2.
- Enter the UNICHAR formula as:
=UNICHAR(931)
COMMENT 931 is the UNICHAR number for uppercase Sigma.
3. Press Enter.
The function will return the uppercase Sigma symbol as:
For the lowercase Sigma symbol,
- Select cell B2.
- Enter the UNICHAR formula as:
=UNICHAR(963)
COMMENT 963 is the UNICHAR number for lowercase Sigma.
3. Press Enter.
The lowercase Sigma will appear in the selected cell as:
Insert Sigma Using VBA
The VBA code is another way you can use to insert the Sigma symbol in Excel. Although this is slightly more time taking, the results are just as good. Let’s see how to do it below.
To insert the Sigma symbol in Excel,
- Activate the worksheet by selecting a cell.
- Go to the Developer tab on the ribbon and select Visual Basic or press Alt + F11 to open VBA window.
- The Microsoft Visual Basic window will appear on the screen.
- From the menu bar, go to Insert and select Module.
5. Paste the following code into the module.
Sub InsertSigmaSymbols() ' Inserts uppercase sigma (?) in cell A2 Range("A2").Value = ChrW(931) ' Unicode value for uppercase sigma (S) ' Inserts lowercase sigma (s) in cell B2 Range("B2").Value = ChrW(963) ' Unicode value for lowercase sigma (s) End Sub
- Press F5 or select Run from the menu bar.
- Close the VBA window.
And it’s done! Uppercase and lowercase Sigma will both appear in the mentioned cells in the worksheet.
That wasn’t difficult, right?
Insert Sigma Using AutoCorrect Option
You can also use the Excel AutoCorrect option to insert the sigma symbol. Let’s see how to do it below.
To insert Sigma,
- Go to Files in the Excel ribbon.
- Click Options.
- Select Proofing from the Categories.
- Click on AutoCorrect Options.
5. The AutoCorrect dialog box will appear on the screen.
6. In the Replace box, type /capsigma for uppercase Sigma and paste the following Sigma symbol in the With box.
Σ
7. Press Add.
8. Now, close the dialog box and click on the AutoCorrect Options button again.
9. In the Replace box, type /sigma for lowercase Sigma and insert the following lowercase Sigma symbol in the With box.
σ
10. Click on Add
11. Press Ok on the Excel Options dialog box.
12. In cell A2, type /capsigma and press Enter.
The AutoCorrect will return the uppercase Sigma symbol in the cell instead as:
13. Similarly, type /sigma in cell B2.
You will get the lowercase sigma symbol.
How cool is that? Try it yourself now!
Conclusion
In this guide, we explored different ways of inserting the Sigma or the Sum symbol in Excel. We saw how to use the VBA code, the UNICHAR function, the keyboard shortcut and much more.
Our favorite methods are using the Emoji keyboard and using the keyboard shortcut to insert Sigma in Excel because they are fun and quick – you will have the symbol inserted in the cell in the blink of an eye. All you need is a little practice to master these methods.
Experiment with each one of the above-explained methods to find the one that suits you best and stick to it.