Why array formulas process ranges at once in Google Sheets - Dashboard Impact

Dashboard Mode - Why array formulas process ranges at once

Goal

Understand why array formulas in Google Sheets calculate multiple cells at once instead of one by one.

Sample Data

Item	Price	Quantity
Apple	2	3
Banana	1	5
Cherry	3	2
Date	4	4
Elderberry	5	1

Dashboard Components

• KPI Card: Total Items Sold
  Formula: =SUM(C2:C6)
  Result: 15
• Table: Total Cost per Item
  Formula in D2: =ARRAYFORMULA(B2:B6 * C2:C6)
  Output:
  6, 5, 6, 16, 5
• Explanation Box: Why ARRAYFORMULA processes ranges at once:
  

  Array formulas calculate all results in one step, making calculations faster and simpler. Instead of repeating formulas for each row, one formula handles the whole range.

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+-----------------------+
| Total Items Sold (KPI) | Explanation Box       |
|          15           | Why ARRAYFORMULA works |
+----------------------+-----------------------+
|        Total Cost per Item Table               |
| 6 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 5                             |
+-----------------------------------------------+

Interactivity

Changing quantities or prices updates the Total Cost per Item and Total Items Sold automatically because the array formula recalculates the entire range at once.

Self Check

If you change the quantity of Bananas from 5 to 10, which components update?

• Total Items Sold updates to 20.
• Total Cost per Item updates Banana's total cost from 5 to 10.

Key Result

Shows how ARRAYFORMULA calculates multiple cells at once for total cost and total items sold.