One of the coolest features of an Excel 2003 list is the ability to instantly add a Total row at the bottom of the list. To do this, click the Toggle Total Row button on the List toolbar after you select one of the cells in the Excel list. The moment you click this button, Excel adds a Total row at the bottom of the list. You can then use this row to total columns with numeric entries by following these steps:

1. Click the cell in the Total row of the column you want summed.

A drop-down button appears to the right of the cell.

2. Click Sum on the column's drop-down list, which you can open by clicking its drop-down button.

If you don't want to sum the items in a particular column, you can have the program perform another type of computation, such as averaging the numbers in the column or counting the items (something you can have Excel do even in columns that contain text entries). All you do is select the appropriate type of calculation -- Average, Count, or any of the other available computations -- from the Total cell's drop-down list.