Excel Functions You’ve Never Heard of – Least Popular Excel Functions

As a popular spreadsheet software, Microsoft Excel has a wide range of functions that can help users perform various tasks and calculations. While some functions like SUM and AVERAGE are widely used on a daily basis, there are many other functions that are not as commonly used. In this blog post, we will take a look at some of the least used functions in Microsoft Excel and discuss how they can be useful in different scenarios.

1. BESSELI function: The BESSELI function is a math and trigonometry function that calculates the modified Bessel function of the first kind. It takes two arguments: the number for which you want to calculate the Bessel function, and the order of the function. The Bessel function is a mathematical function that arises in solutions to differential equations and has applications in fields such as physics, engineering, and economics. However, it is not a commonly used function in Excel, as it is mostly used by advanced users and specialists in these fields.
2. CUBEKPIMEMBER function: The CUBEKPIMEMBER function is a database function that returns a key performance indicator (KPI) from a cube. It takes three arguments: the cube name, the KPI name, and the member name. This function is useful if you have a cube data source and want to retrieve specific KPI values. However, it is not a widely used function, as it requires a cube data source and specialized knowledge of KPI management.
3. DBCS function: The DBCS function is a text function that returns the double-byte character set (DBCS) value of a character. It takes a single argument: the character for which you want to get the DBCS value. The DBCS value is a number that represents the character in the DBCS encoding system, which is used to represent characters in some East Asian languages. While this function can be useful for working with DBCS characters, it is not a commonly used function in Excel, as it is mostly used by advanced users who work with these languages.
4. FVSCHEDULE function: The FVSCHEDULE function is a financial function that calculates the future value of an investment based on a schedule of periodic payments and interest rates. It takes three arguments: the rate of interest, the number of periods, and the payment schedule. While the FVSCHEDULE function can be useful for financial analysis, it is not a commonly used function in Excel, as it requires a specific set of data and specialized knowledge of financial concepts.
5. IMSUB function: The IMSUB function is an image function that subtracts two images. It takes two arguments: the first image and the second image. The IMSUB function returns an image that is the result of subtracting the second image from the first image. While this function can be useful for image processing, it is not a commonly used function in Excel, as it requires images to be stored in the spreadsheet and specialized knowledge of image processing.

In conclusion, while Excel has a wide range of functions that can be used for various tasks and calculations, some functions are not as commonly used as others. The least used functions discussed in this blog post are BESSELI, CUBEKPIMEMBER, DBCS, FVSCHEDULE, and IMSUB. These functions can be useful in specific scenarios and for advanced users, but they are not commonly used in general Excel work.