What does the function LOWER() do?

The function LOWER() is designed specifically to convert all text in a cell to lowercase letters. This is particularly useful when you want to standardize text input, ensuring consistency in your data. For example, if a spreadsheet contains names or email addresses where some entries are in uppercase or a mix of cases, applying the LOWER() function will transform them all to lowercase. This can help in data analysis, comparisons, and preventing discrepancies that arise from case sensitivity.

The other functions, while useful for different text manipulations, do not perform the same task as LOWER(). For instance, functions like UPPER() would convert text to uppercase, and there are functions to capitalize words or trim spaces, which serve distinct purposes in data formatting. The key takeaway is the specific function of LOWER() to create uniformity in text presentation by simplifying everything to lowercase.